Good news from the neighbors!
Guangdong's first expressway, 33 years old
It's going to be free!
Guangzhou-Foshan Expressway
The charges will stop from 00:00 on March 3
It will become the first free highway in the country to expire
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On February 23, Guangdong Expressway A (000429) issued an announcement that Guangdong Expressway Development Co., Ltd. recently received the Guangdong Provincial Transportation Department issued a Guangdong Jiaoying Convenience Letter [2022] No. 24 "Notice of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Transportation on Matters Related to the Disposal of the Expiration of the Toll Period of the Guangdong-Foshan Expressway", the Guangfo Expressway will stop charging from 00:00 on March 3, 2022, retain the existing toll facilities to operate as usual at zero rates, and exempt all vehicles passing through this section of the road from vehicle tolls. Vehicle tolls for other sections of the road will be collected on your behalf.
After the toll collection is stopped, Guangfo Expressway Co., Ltd. will continue to be responsible for the management and maintenance of Guangzhou-Foshan Expressway.
The announcement also shows that Guangfo Expressway Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Guangfo Company") is a holding subsidiary of the Company, and the Company holds 75% of its equity.
The company and Guangfo Company will strictly follow the standards and norms stipulated by the state and the province to timely inspect, maintain and manage the Guangzhou-Foshan Expressway and its ancillary facilities, as well as communications, monitoring, network charging and other systems, to ensure that it is in a good technical state, to ensure the order of network toll operation and to do a good job in traffic flow monitoring and traffic diversion after the Guangzhou-Foshan Expressway stops charging, so as to provide quality services for vehicles and personnel.
Data map: Guangzhou-Foshan Expressway.
The first expressway in Guangdong to be completed and opened to traffic
Guangzhou-Foshan Expressway, referred to as "Guangzhou-Foshan Expressway", is a branch line of Shenyang-Haikou Expressway of China's national expressway network, which was completed and opened to traffic in 1989, and is the first expressway in Guangdong to be completed and opened to traffic, and the second expressway in China to be completed and opened to traffic.
The 15.7-kilometer Guangzhou-Foshan Expressway is also the main transportation hub connecting Guangzhou to Foshan under the framework of the "1-hour living circle" of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, playing an important role in the integrated development of Guangzhou-Foshan.
On the evening of the 22nd, the news of the suspension of charging on the Guangzhou-Foshan Expressway received attention. Some Guangzhou netizens commented that "less road, a big step in the same city.".
At the beginning of the opening of the Guangzhou-Foshan Expressway, there were only four lanes in both directions, but due to the extremely busy traffic in Guangzhou-Foshan, with the rapid increase in traffic, in 1999, the Guangzhou-Foshan Expressway implemented an expansion project, setting a precedent for the expansion of the expressway in operation in the country; in 2007, the Guangzhou-Foshan Expressway was expanded again, expanding the 6-lane section into 8 lanes.
Public data show that in the more than 30 years since it was completed and opened to traffic, the traffic flow of Guangzhou-Foshan Expressway has grown rapidly, and the traffic flow has exceeded 50 million in 2015. In 2019, the traffic volume reached 75.97 million vehicles, more than three times that of 2003.
Data source: Guangdong Expressway Construction Record, Guangdong Expressway Development Co., Ltd. Annual Report
The Guangzhou-Foshan Expressway has set many precedents
In addition to the first expressway in Guangdong, it is worth noting that the Guangzhou-Foshan Expressway is the first joint venture construction, operation and management expressway in China, which has opened the prelude to the construction of the Guangdong Expressway.
According to the Guangdong Provincial Communications Group, at that time, Hong Kong Pearl River Shipping Co., Ltd. and Guangdong Highway Construction Company signed an agreement to participate in 25% of the shares, the establishment of Guangfo Expressway Co., Ltd., the two sides agreed to bear limited liability for the debts of the joint venture company with the amount of capital they subscribed.
In addition to the innovation of financing methods, Guangzhou-Foshan Expressway has also set many precedents. For example, at a time of rapid traffic growth, in order to ensure that the expressway meets the requirements of safety, smoothness and comfort, the Guangzhou-Foshan Expressway has become the pioneer of the national compound charging model. During peak traffic, 7 duplex toll booths were opened using 1 lane.
According to the 2004 Highway Toll Regulations, the commercial highway generally does not exceed 30 years, but the toll period can be extended under certain conditions. The original toll period of the Guangzhou-Foshan Expressway was from 1989 to 2019, and was later extended to the end of the toll in December 2021.
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Source | South + client, Yangcheng pie
Edit | Xiao Yu