G50 Shanghai–Chongqing Expressway

The Shanghai–Chongqing Expressway (Chinese: 上海—重庆高速公路), designated as G50 and commonly referred to as the Huyu Expressway (Chinese: 沪渝高速公路) is an east-west bound expressway that connects the cities of Shanghai, China in Yangtze River Delta, and Chongqing in western China. The expressway runs through six provinces/municipalities and adjoin major cities such as Wuhu, Anqing, Wuhan and Yichang, roughly parallel to G42 Shanghai-Chengdu Expressway to its south. The thoroughfare begins at Huqingping Outer Ring Interchange near Hongqiao International Airport, where it meets S20 Outer Ring Expressway in Shanghai, and terminates at an interchange in Jiangbei District, where the highway joins G75 Lanzhou-Haikou Expressway. It is fully complete and spans 1,900 km (1,200 mi) in length.

alt=Shanghai–Chongqing Expressway shield
Shanghai–Chongqing Expressway
上海-重庆高速公路
Huyu Expressway
沪渝高速公路
Route information
Length1,900 km[1] (1,200 mi)
Major junctions
East endS20 Outer Ring Expressway and Yan'an Elevated Road, Shanghai
Major intersections G15 – Qingpu District, Shanghai
G1501 – Qingpu District, Shanghai
G1522 – Suzhou, Jiangsu
G25 – Huzhou, Zhejiang
G4211 – Wuhu, Anhui
G5011 – Wuhu, Anhui

G3 – Tongling, Anhui
G4212 – Anqing, Anhui
G35 – Qianshan County, Anhui
G70 – Huangmei County, Hubei
G45 – Huangshi, Hubei
G4201 – Wuhan, Hubei
G4 – Wuhan, Hubei
G55 – Jingzhou, Hubei
G42 – Dianjiang County, Chongqing
G5001 – Jiangbei District, Chongqing

G65 – Yubei District, Chongqing
West end G75 Lanzhou-Haikou Expressway, Jiangbei District, Chongqing
Location
CountryChina
Highway system
G4515 G5001
The Sidu River Bridge on the G50 expressway

Route Description

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Shanghai

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The Shanghai–Chongqing Expressway begins at an interchange with S20 Outer Ring Expressway and Yan'an Elevated Road near Hongqiao International Airport. It runs as a six-lane freeway to Jiamin Elevated Road, with a speed limit of 80 km/h (50 mph). To the west of Jiamin Elevated Road, G50 becomes a toll road carrying six lanes, with a speed limit of 120 km/h (75 mph). It then intersects with G15 Shenyang-Haikou Expressway via a turbine interchange, and G1501 Shanghai Outer Ring Expressway, before leaving Shanghai near Dianshan Lake.

This portion of G50 was originally named Huqingping Expressway, completed in 2008, and was designated as Route A9. It runs roughly parallel to G318 in Shanghai, which was originally named Huqingping Highway (Chinese: 沪青平公路).

Yangtze River Delta Region

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The expressway dips briefly into Jiangsu as a six-lane expressway with a speed limit of 120 km/h (75 mph). It runs primarily within the border of Wujiang District in Suzhou. It intersects with G15W Changshu–Taizhou Expressway just west of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and continues detouring Lake Tai to its south. G50 then enters Zhejiang at the historic town of Nanxun in Nanxun District. In Zhejiang, the expressway becomes a four-lane 120 km/h (75 mph) toll road. After entering Zhejiang in Nanxun District, the expressway passes through the city of Huzhou to the north of city center. At Hongqiao Town to the southeast of Changxin County, G50 meets G25 Changchun-Shenzhen Expressway, and continues westbound until Jiepai Village, where it enters Anhui province.

Anhui

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The Anqing Bridge in Anhui, the first of the five bridges over the Yangtze River on the G50 expressway

G50 enters Anhui near Guangde County as a four-lane limited access toll road with a speed limit of 120 km/h (75 mph). It then heads to detour the city of Xuancheng to its south, and heads northwest to Wuhu. At a cloverleaf interchange, the G50 meets G5011 Wuhu–Hefei Expressway and G4211 Nanjing–Wuhu Expressway. Here, the G50 turns south to circumvent Wuhu and follows Yangtze River. The expressway meets G3 Beijing–Taipei Expressway outside of Tongling and continues southwest. Before crossing Yangtze River at Anqing Bridge outside of Anqing, the expressway encounters and concurs with G4212 Hefei–Anqing Expressway and G35 Jinan–Guangzhou Expressway. The Anqing Bridge carries four lanes of the expressway through Yangtze River to the north. G50 then splits with G4212 at a cloverleaf interchange northeast to Huaining County and heads southwest again, following the Yangtze River. After detouring Qianshan County, G50 splits with G35 and continues southwest bound. In Susong County, the expressway tilts westward and enters Hubei province at the border of Huangmei County.

Hubei

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G50 Huyu Expressway in Hubei Province

In Hubei, the expressway becomes a four-lane, 110 km/h (68 mph) toll road. It enters Hubei in Huangmei County. In Huangmei, the expressway meets and concurs with G70 Fuzhou–Yinchuan Expressway, following the curvature of Yangtze River. The expressway then meets and concurs with G45 Daqing–Guangzhou Expressway at an interchange in Xishui County just east of downtown Huangshi, and becomes a six-lane highway, carried across Yangtze River via Huangshi Bridge. The concurrency with G45 ends just west of downtown Huangshi, and the G50-G70 concurrency continues westbound as a four-lane expressway until an interchange at the village of Dawu just outside Wuhan. There, G50 meets Hubei S7 Guanshankou-Baoxie Expressway, splits with G70, and concurs with G4201 Wuhan Outer Ring Expressway, bending away from downtown Wuhan. G50 concurs with most of G4201's southern tier and meets G4 Beijing–Hong Kong and Macau Expressway in Jiangxia District, Wuhan. There, the expressway widens to a six-lane toll road again, and connects with Hubei S11 Qingling-Zhengdian Expressway. The traffic is then carried across Yangtze River via Junshan Bridge. G50 then intersects with Hubei S13 Wuhan-Jianli Expressway and heads northwest to detour downtown Wuhan. G50 splits with G4201 and heads westbound. In Caidian District, G50 meets Hubei S15 Hanyang-Caidian Expressway, but westbound traffic on G50 does not have access to S15 because only two ramps were constructed to accommodate westbound traffic entering G50 from S15 and eastbound traffic leaving G50 to S15. The expressway heads west, passing Xiantao to the south of downtown, and meets the north-south bound Hubei S49 Suizhou-Yueyang Expressway near the town of Maozui. In Jingzhou, G50 passes downtown Jingzhou to the north, and intersects with G55 Erenhot–Guangzhou Expressway. Then, G50 turns southwest to concur with Hubei S63 Laohekou-Shishou Expressway. The remainder of the original Hanyi Expressway(Chinese: 汉宜高速) is designated as Hubei S48 Huting-Yichang Expressway to serve as a connector to downtown Yichang. Four lanes of G50 are then carried across Yangtze River via Yichang Bridge and encounters Hubei S68 Fanba Expressway in Dianjun District. From there, rugged landscape and mountainous terrain of southwestern Hubei necessitates the construction of numerous bridges and tunnels in Changyang Tujia Autonomous County and Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. Among the notable bridges in that area are the Longtanhe Bridge,[2] Tieluoping Bridge,[3] Sidu River Bridge, Qingjiang Bridge,[4] and Xuewan Tunnel. A mountain-area speed limit of 80 km/h (50 mph) is imposed along the remainder of G50 in Hubei province. At the village of Baiyangtang, G50 enters Chongqing Municipality.

Chongqing

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In Chongqing, G50 carries some of the most extraordinary long tunnels along its route. The expressway again crosses to the north of the Yangtze over the Zhongxian Huyu Expressway Bridge in Zhong County. The expressway also passes through Dianjiang County and travels southwest bound, meeting G42 Shanghai-Chengdu Expressway, G5001 Chongqing Ring Expressway, and G65 Baotou-Maoming Expressway before reaching its westernmost terminus in Jiangbei District, where G50 meets G75 Lanzhou-Haikou Expressway near Shapucun.

Major intersections

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Province Exit
Shanghai
Hongyu Elevated Road
Zhongchun Road
Jiamin Elevated Road
Xunan Road, Huting North Road
  G15 Shenyang–Haikou Expressway, East Xulian Road, West Xulian Road
Jiasong Middle Road S224
  G1501 Shanghai Ring Expressway
Qingpu City Center
Zhufeng Highway S225
Xicen
Jinze exit to   China National Highway 318
Jiangsu Fenhu
  G15W2 Changshu–Jiaxing Expressway (under construction)
Beiku
Lili
  G15W Changshu–Taizhou Expressway
Pingwang
Hengshan
Qidu exit to Suzhentao Highway S258
Zhejiang Nanxun
Zhili
Huzhou
Bianshan Tunnel
  G25 Changchun–Shenzhen Expressway
Changxing West
Lincheng
S14 Hangzhou-Changxing Expressway
Si'an exit to S204
Anhui Guangde East exit to   China National Highway 318
Guangde exit to   China National Highway 318, S215
  G4012 Liyang–Ningde Expressway (under construction)
Shizipu exit to S214
S05 Xuancheng-Tonglu Expressway, S32 Tongling-Xuancheng Expressway
Xuancheng East exit to S104
Xuancheng West exit to   China National Highway 318
S32 Tongling-Xuancheng Expressway
Wanzhi, Wuhu County
S28 Liyang-Wuhu Expressway
  G4211 Nanjing–Wuhu Expressway and   G5011 Wuhu–Hefei Expressway in Jinghu District of Wuhu
Wuhu South exit to   China National Highway 205
Fanchang County S216
Tongling East
Tongling South
  G3 Beijing–Taipei Expressway
Guanqian
Guichi District, Chizhou
Yinhui
Dadukou
S27 Andong Expressway and   G4212 Hefei–Anqing Expressway
Anqing Bridge over the Yangtze River
Anqing East
Anqing Airport
Anqing North
  G4212 Hefei–Anqing Expressway and   China National Highway 206 at Huaining
Qianshan
  G35 Jinan–Guangzhou Expressway
Taihu
Susong
Hubei   G70 Fuzhou–Yinchuan Expressway at Huangmei
Wuxue
Qichun
Sanhua
  G45 Daqing–Guangzhou Expressway
E’dong Bridge over the Yangtze River
Huangshi
  G45 Daqing–Guangzhou Expressway (under construction)
Tingzu
  China National Highway 106 and   China National Highway 316 at Zelin
Dushan S293
Miaoling
Interchange with   G4201 Wuhan Ring Expressway,   G70 Fuzhou–Yinchuan Expressway, and S8 Guanbao Expressway
Phoenix Mountain exit
Jiangxia
Interchange with   G4 Beijing–Hong Kong and Macau Expressway and South Wuhan exit on to   China National Highway 107
S11 Qingzheng Expressway
Jinkou exit
Yangtze River over the Junshan Bridge
S13 Wujian Expressway
Junshan
  G4 Beijing–Hong Kong and Macau Expressway,   G4201 Wuhan Ring Expressway and   China National Highway 318
Caidian District
S15 Hancai Expressway
Beihe exit
Xiantao
S49 Suiyue Expressway
Qianjiang S247
Qianjiang West S219
Yajiao exit
Shashi District in Jingzhou
  G55 Erenhot–Guangzhou Expressway
Jingzhou District
Zhijiang S256
Anfusi S325
Xiaoting and Yichang Airport
  G42 Shanghai–Chengdu Expressway and S48 Huyi Expressway
Xiaoting
Yichang Bridge over the Yangtze River
Honghuatao
S68 Fanba Expressway
Changyang
Biandanya Tunnel
Weijiazhou Bridge
Yuquanxi Tunnel
Hejiaping
Jinlong Tunnel
Longtanhe River Viaduct
Tieluoping Bridge
Shuanghekou Bridge
Baziling Tunnel
Sidu River Bridge
Yesanguan Tunnel

References

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