A part of the fifth ring road that will allow vehicles to bypass Beijing is expected to be completed in October next year.

Work started on this section of Highway Belt One, the name for the fifth ring road, over the weekend. It will link the Badaling Expressway in the west and the Airport Expressway in the east.

The fifth ring road will run through the districts of Chaoyang, Haidian, Shijingshan and Fengtai and is designed for cars traveling at 100 kilometers per hour.

It will connect 10 business areas located on the city outskirts, including Wangjing, Beiyuan and Qinghe.

The ring road is expected to alleviate traffic congestion and help the city expand, as well as stimulate economic development in suburban areas.

It is also expected to improve traffic problems around sites earmarked for the 2008 Olympics and is therefore part of Beijing's Olympic bid plans.

Officials said they hope the fifth ring road will, together with the last 65-kilometre section of the fourth ring road due for completion in June next year, benefit the city's bid for the 2008 Olympic Games.

With a length of 15.2 kilometers, the first phase section of the fifth ring road will be six lanes in each direction and will include car parking areas for emergency.

The road will have features such as lighting and supervision and safety aspects.

Overall, the fifth ring road will be 94.5 kilometers long. A total of 10.8 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion) is being invested in the project to build a belt between urban and rural areas.

The road is expected to help vehicles travelling by the capital to miss it out altogether.

Beijing has had traffic problems for a number of years and the municipal government has been trying to improve the city's infrastructure to relieve the situation.

The completion of the northern part of the fourth ring road, for example, has significantly reduced congestion along the third ring road. Cars can travel along the fourth ring road at speeds of around 80 kilometres an hour, much faster than the optimum speed of 55-65 kilometres per hour on the second and third ring roads.

The under-construction 27.7-kilometre north-south subway, from Songjiazhuang in southern Fengtai District to Taipingzhuang in Changping District, is expected to be another important part of the city's infrastructure network.

(China Daily 12/11/2000)