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26-508: It is an intersection where the northern stretch of the 5th Ring Road and the Badaling Expressway meet. Before tolls on the 5th Ring Road were abolished in early 2004, the bridge received little attention, apart from being the bridge where the first stretch of the 5th Ring Road was opened to traffic. However, as of 2004, it has become a major focus point, as the bridge is, more often than not, home to stunning traffic jams. The problem

52-484: A much higher risk for congestion than the 4th Ring Road (both directions) during rush hour, despite the section past the Wuyuan Bridge (inner ring direction) having a speed limit of 100 km/h and the expressway being more distant from the city centre. Note: ↑ denotes an overpass, ↓ an underpass, and ⇆ an interchange bridge with exit. Symbols: ↗ = exit (✕ = closed), ⇆ = main interchange; S = service area. There

78-533: A toll gate on the Badaling Expressway if the driver heads out of Beijing). However, the problem is significant for cars entering the 5th Ring Road from the Badaling Expressway , where tolls must be paid before the vehicle enters the 5th Ring Road. The heart of the problem is that the two longer parts of the bridge stretching into the 5th Ring Road consist of only one drivable lane. As a result, long lines at Shangqing Bridge are routine. Because of this, it

104-601: Is a ring road encircling the city about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) away from the city centre. It takes the form of an expressway and is 98 kilometres (61 mi) in length. Being a ring road, it has no natural start or end point, although the "0 km" mark is found near the northeastern stretch at Laiguangying, at the intersection with the Jingcheng Expressway . The expressway ring road is a provincial-level road in Beijing municipality. All of Beijing's expressways, except for

130-516: Is a song circulating on the Chinese internet since the 2010s called the Song of the 5th Ring . The most famous cover of this song was performed by MC HotDog and Yue Yunpeng , used as an interlude of the movie Jian Bing Man . Tongyan Expressway China National Highway 102 is a major trunk route connecting Beijing to Fuyuan , Heilongjiang . In Beijing it is known as Jingfu Road ( 京抚路 ), after

156-476: Is a trademark bridge of the expressway ring road. By mid-December 2004, a second exit lane was fitted for the Wangjing Science and Technology Park exit (clockwise direction). Previously, traffic used to clog up the entire ring road (at around 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. local time every workday) near that exit, as it is very close to Wangjing . Also, a second exit liaising directly with Wangjing is under construction; it

182-443: Is not recognized by Republic of China (Taiwan). This observation was eventually dropped in new National Highway plans, replaced by Dandong-Dongxing Highway. A extension plan of the highway system was announced in 2013, including extension of existing highways(101-112, 201-227, 301-330) and new highways (North-South 228-248, East-West 331-361, Connections 501-581). Only small portions of them needs to be constructed from scratch; most of

208-412: Is not uncommon to see the two parts of Shangqing Bridge stretching into the 5th Ring Road jam-packed with vehicles. Unfortunately the toll gate problem is difficult to solve as there is only one lane to the toll gate, and the 5th Ring Road was never designed as a toll-free express road, but as a standard expressway (with tolls). A few months into 2004, the authorities banned lorries over 2 t in weight from

234-471: Is that vehicles switching expressways must pick up an entry card when heading in either direction. For cars heading toward the Badaling Expressway from the 5th Ring Road (especially if they are heading towards central Beijing ), it is not a big problem (cards are handed and handed back to the Qinghe toll gate, where drivers heading into central Beijing continue without paying a cent; cards are also handed back to

260-485: Is very close to the Wangjing filling station on the ring road (clockwise direction again). When the 5th Ring Road was completed (and even while segments were already open to the traffic), the expressway became a toll ring road. The charge was 0.5 CNY per kilometre as a minimum for small vehicles (which would equate to just around 6 cents U.S.). The charge, although small, was exorbitant for many drivers, who shied away from

286-404: The 6th Ring Road , placing longer travel routes and more tolls on the drivers. All lorries over 2 t can only enter areas inside of the 6th Ring Road during the night. This measure, although easy to dismiss as extreme, actually takes a fair bit of credit. Lorries stockpiling on the bridge is a scene reserved now only during peak hours (previously, it was virtually any time of the day ). Although

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312-480: The Tongyan Expressway , are interlinked with the 5th Ring Road. Portions of the expressway have a maximum speed limit of 90 km/h, with the remainder imposing a speed limit of 100 km/h. There is a universal minimum speed limit of 50 km/h. The 5th ring road has three lanes in each direction, for a total of six lanes. The route was originally called the "1st Expressway Ring Road", as it would take

338-478: The bridge ran several important rail lines that could not be interrupted while the bridge was being built, which made it impossible for the Shifeng Bridge to be built like a normal bridge. It was instead constructed in parts extending the expressway as it went along. The completion of this colossal work accelerated the completion of the entire ring road. At night, the Shifeng Bridge looks spectacular. It apparently

364-401: The bridge, for fear that Shangqing Bridge might collapse, due to the enormous weight of the vehicles. On September 16, 2004, further actions were taken. Lorries heading for the eastern stretch of the N. 5th Ring Road (if coming into Beijing) were simply to be denied access and this included buses as well (apparently, the bridge has too much stress on it). All affected traffic is rerouted using

390-414: The charges, remains uncrowded today, except for any occurrence of a serious accident. The sole remaining toll is located at Shangqing Bridge. The section from Wufang Bridge to Shangqing Bridge in both directions has a moderate to high risk of traffic jams due to its proximity to important residential districts and tourist destinations, such as Wangjing, Beiyuan, and Yayuncun. This section has, unusually,

416-432: The expressway connecting the ring road. Beijingers soon learned to avoid this pricey path at all costs, preferring to sit out hours in jams on the 4th Ring Road and roads more central to Beijing. Thus, the 5th Ring Road became a virtually "wasted" ring expressway. As a result, this expressway was the subject of a heated debate in 2003. It became apparent that the 5th Ring Road was made just for those who could afford both

442-530: The expressway. Further protests derived from the apparent fact that drivers were being charged the full CNY 5 for just one kilometre of the road, from Yizhuang to the Jingjintang Expressway . Additionally, users of the Badaling Expressway and the Jingkai Expressway , which have toll gates within the 5th Ring Road, moaned about being charged twice – once for the 5th Ring Road, and once again for

468-523: The first portion of the ring road opened in 2001, linking the Badaling Expressway with the Airport Expressway . Further stretches of the road were soon opened. By mid-2003, half of the ring road was open, from the western end connecting the West Chang'an Avenue to the interchange in the southeast with the Jingjintang Expressway . The ring road was completed in its entirety on November 1, 2003, with

494-401: The form of an expressway, and therefore become the city's first expressway ring road. However, given the fact that the 2nd Ring Road , 3rd Ring Road and 4th Ring Road were in existence, re-ordering it as a ring road with a number value of 1, especially as it was outside the 4th Ring Road, looked odd. Therefore, it was renamed the 5th Ring Road, after some debate. Work began soon after and

520-637: The intersections with the Jingshi Expressway and the Jingkai Expressway . Also completed on that same day was the Xiaoyue Tunnel —noticeable for being the only tunnel on any of the Ring Roads of Beijing . The 5th Ring Road is home to the Shifeng Bridge . This bridge was built and actually had to be rotated after it was built to link the two ends of the southwestern 5th Ring Road together. Underneath

546-616: The major obstacle. Still, the problem is mitigated with the addition of a few more toll gates—although only in a line (vertically instead of horizontally). To solve the problem, some toll officials now collect tolls by actually walking to cars in the line and collecting tolls and handing over receipts. This somewhat alleviates the problem, even though the core of the problem is still existent to this day. 5th Ring Road (Beijing) Beijing 's 5th Ring Road ( simplified Chinese : 五环路 ; traditional Chinese : 五環路 ; pinyin : Wǔ Huán Lù , China Road Numbering : S50 (Beijing)

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572-430: The petrol and the tolls. Meanwhile, it became a kind of an unofficial test track for new drivers, who racked up spectacular (and, strictly speaking, illegal) speeds on the nearly empty expressway. With Shoufa, the company running the expressway, unwilling to budge, standing firm to its view that the prices were authorised by the local Price Bureau, and with enough disgruntled Beijingers posting on message boards demanding

598-462: The removal of the tolls, the authorities stepped in at the end of December 2003 and decreed that the road be made free on the first day of 2004. (At the same time, all charges for expressway exits within the confines of the 5th Ring Road were also done away with.) When the tolls were removed, usage of the 5th Ring Road gradually increased. The ring road previously managed with only 10% of its total designed capacity. The expressway ring road, even without

624-658: The two cities' names, for connecting Beijing to Fuyuan. It leaves Beijing as the Jingtong Expressway and Tongzhou–Yanjiao Expressway into Hebei Province (they are rare occurrences that sections of National Highways are built to National Expressway standards). It then runs alongside the Beijing–Shenyang Expressway along the coast until Shenyang , Liaoning , and then along the Shenyang–Harbin Expressway until Harbin. China National Highway 102

650-481: The very issue of traffic jams is yet to be fully solved, the measure is a step towards solving it. Meanwhile, the bridge is further saved from collapse. Despite this, public opinion is rather negative on the traffic situation at Shangqing Bridge. Calls for the repositioning of the toll gates and the addition of further toll gates have been mounting upon Shoufa, the expressway company. The authorities and Shoufa respond by saying that technical and physical constraints are

676-573: Was 1,297 km (806 mi) in length. It runs through the provinces of Hebei, Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang . It connects major cities of Qinhuangdao , Shenyang, Changchun and Harbin. In 2013, under a new 2013-2030 plan by NDRC & MoT , the G102 has been extended to Fuyuan. China National Highway 112 runs around Beijing Before 2013, Mainland China observed National Highway 228 as Taiwan Ring, composed of several National Expressway (Republic of China) and Taiwan provincial highways, this designation

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