The Thangme Bridge and other projects will make driving safer for commuters in the Tibetan region. (Photo : www.defencetalk.net)
The part of the Sichuan-Tibet Highway known as the "Tongmai Graveyard" that has a reputation for being a cause of accidents and traffic jams is no longer going to be a problem for commuters after a project that consists of two bridges and four tunnels is completed.
The dangerous road is a 17-kilometer section of the highway that links Bome and Bayi counties in Nyingchi City in the southeastern Tibet Autonomous Region.
Currently, drivers have to use the narrow, high-elevation road that winds in several "S" bends and hairpin bends on one side of a mountain prone to mudslides. Thirty meters below runs the Parlung Tsangpo, a tributary of the Yarlung Tsangpo.
"The road can hardly allow two cars at the same time," said Chodan, a regular commuter along the route. "An SUV has to make a stop if there is a truck coming head-on, and when they meet, the width between them is no more than 0.5 of a meter."
"This section saw numerous mishaps--vehicle plunging into the abyss, car pile-ups, mudslides, traffic jams each month," said Huang Bingyong, a police officer who has been helping ease traffic jams along the road for the past three years.
Huang said that drivers could end up stuck in congestion for up to 10 days if a mudslide occurred.
"They sometimes needed to back up cars for a couple of kilometers in a bid to get out," he said.
When the 7.4-million-yuan project is finished, the time to cross the section will be reduced from three hours to 40 minutes.
Thangme Bridge, the centerpiece of the project, stretches 256 meters over the Parlung Tsangpo.
"Designed as a two-way highway, the bridge is expected to receive more than 1,560 vehicles a day and will greatly ease traffic pressure along the 'Tongmai Graveyard.'" said Nyima Chok, the technician in charge of the project.
The total investment in the project is about 170 million yuan, which will help keep the bridge operational for 100 years.
