Jingha Expressway

The Jingha Expressway (京哈高速公路, Hanyu Pinyin: Jīnghā Gāosù Gōnglù) is an expressway in China which links Beijing to Harbin. At present, it is approximately 10 km in length in the Beijing section.

The road is bumpy and driving at night is challenging. Exits are few. As of July 2004, minor repairs and a few new road signs are going up. As of the bird flu outbreak, all vehicles have to pass through an inspection point before being allowed into the toll gate, heading into Beijing.

The Jingha Expressway gets its name by the combination of two one-character Chinese abbreviations of both Beijing and Harbin (Beijing -- Jing, Harbin -- Ha).

Route

The Jingha Expressway runs within the confines of the municipality of Beijing, stretching for a negligible stretch into Hebei.

Basic Route: Beijing (Tongzhou Beiguan Roundabout - Hugezhuang - Baimiao) - Yanjiao (Hebei)

Status: The Beijing portion is complete in its entirety.

Note: The expressway is shown on maps in Beijing to link directly and seamlessly with the Jingtong Expressway. This, though, is not the case in reality. Instead, several kilometres of non-expressway separate the two expressways after the Jingha Expressway ends at the Beiguan Roundabout, as you enter Tongzhou.

History

The expressway was opened in the 1990, after work got underway as early as 1988. This, along with the Jingshi Expressway, make it one of the earliest expressways in Beijing -- and in mainland China as well.

It was originally conceived to link Beijing to Harbin via Shanhaiguan (site of the eastern extremity of the Great Wall of China). The expressway abruptly ends with the change of jurisdiction at Yanjiao in Hebei, continuing as China National Highway 102. There appears to be no plans to extend the expressway to Harbin. A possible reason is that this role has already been taken by the Jingshen Expressway, which ultimately connects to Harbin in Heilongjiang Province via Changchun in Jilin Province.

In December 2004, a plan was unveiled to local media to interlink the 2.5 km of non-expressway between the Jingtong and Jingha expressways with an express road connection, eliminating traffic bottlenecks between Ximazhuang and Beiguan Roundabout.

Beginning May 17, 2005, the expressway underwent a massive roadworks project which involved reconstructing the surface of the expressway and fitting in new central reservations to cut glare at night time. The roadworks will not finish in their entirety until November 20, 2005. By mid-June 2005, road surface renovation over the bridge past what used to be Beiguan Roundabout was completed. New signs were installed in August 2005.

Road Conditions

peed Limit

Uniform maximum speed limit of 90 km/h. Cameras only at Sanhui Bridge.

Tolls

Tolls apply for the stretch Songzhuang - Yanjiao.

Lanes

4 lanes (2 up, 2 down).

urface Conditions

Fair to poor; appears neglected and run-down.

Note: Signs are nonstandard and are of a previous standard.

Traffic

Fair. No risk of major traffic jams.

Major Exits

Sanhui Bridge, Songzhuang, Baimiao

ervice Areas

This expressway does not have any service areas.

Connections

Ring Roads of Beijing: Connects with the E. 6th Ring Road at Sanhui Bridge.

Jingtong Expressway: Links with the Jingtong Expressway a few kilometres west of the Tongzhou Beiguan Roundabout.

List of Exits

Listed are exits heading east as of Beijing (Tongzhou Beiguan Roundabout) Symbols: ↗ = exit, ⇆ = main interchange; ¥ = central toll gate

* ↗ 1: Jingchaocheguansuo, Tongzhou
* ⇆ "(Interchange with 6th Ring Road)" Shunyi, Daxing
* ↗ 2: Songzhuang, Hugezhuang
* ↗ 4: Baimiao
* ¥ Baimiao Toll Gate and Inspection Station
* ↗ Yanjiao, Hebei: Continues as China National Highway 102 to Sanhe and Shanhaiguan