Following the completion and opening of the Aiguo Road project phase 1 (Zhoujiazui Road -Changyang Road), the phase 2 improvement work (Changyang Road -Hejian Road) is also officially completed. "We had motor and non-motor vehicles all driving on this road before. It's crowded and cluttered. Now the traffic has become orderly, and these traffic lines on the surface make our lives on the road all the safer, " said Ms. Lu, a resident of 7 years around this area.
Aiguo Road phase 2, a 185-meter-long project, starts from north at Changyang Road, and ends at south at Hejian Road. Before the renovation, it's a 6-meter-wide road with both motor and non-motor vehicles driving on it. There was no lanes, and motor and non-motor vehicles drove both ways, and the traffic was in complete disorder.
"On the west side of the road is Jianshe Xinyuan residential area. Most residents in this area walk on this road every day. On the east side is a commercial building in development. The entrance to and exit of the building will also be on Aiguo Road. It will face more traffic pressure in the future," Chen Bin, who is in charge of the project, told the reporter. To solve the problem, the District Construction Management Committee started the Aiguo Road phase 2 project at the end of 2018, which divided into two the wider pedestrian lane on the west side and added a new non-motor vehicle lane, and extended the road to its east side to 8 meters. The vehicle lane was transformed into a two-way two-lane system, pedestrians, non-motor vehicles, and motor vehicles all having their own way.
By making the ultimate use of the current road surface, the construction team has avoided large-scale road expansion and pipelines relocation, and also preserved the trees on the roadside, reducing the impact of the project to its minimum. The road remained open throughout the construction by segregating one half of the road, for construction, from the other half, for traffic. The project also employed the concept of "sponge city," where common paving bricks were replace with pervious materials.