Construction will start this year to connect East Lake and South Lake

Text and photos: Two Lakes Tunnel expected to speed up Wuchang traffic

Blocked by lakes and hills, the north-south traffic corridors in the greater Wuchang area are clearly insufficient and increasingly unable to meet travel demands. Good news came from the ongoing Wuhan Two Sessions: the East Lake-South Lake "Two Lakes Tunnel" will start construction this year, greatly improving traffic conditions in the greater Wuchang area.

On January 8, Wuhan Municipal People's Congress deputies and CPPCC members, while suggesting early initiation of the Two Lakes Tunnel construction, called for refined construction to reduce impacts on the environment and citizens.

1. North from Qinyuan Road and East Lake Road, south to the Third Ring Road

Where is the Two Lakes Tunnel? According to a responsible person from Wuhan Urban Construction Investment and Development Co., Ltd., the Two Lakes Tunnel project has two entrances at the north end, starting from Qinyuan Road and East Lake Road respectively, and extends south to the Third Ring Road, with a total length of about 19.45 kilometers. Its alignment is roughly parallel to the Second Ring Road's Fruit Lake Tunnel-Luoshi Road, running through Luoyu Road, Xiongchu Avenue, and Nanhu Avenue. The entire line will be built as a tunnel with 6-8 lanes in both directions, with some interchange ramps connecting to surface roads, and some entrances and exits along the tunnel to connect with major arterial roads.

Wuhan traffic management department said that due to lakes, hills, and large institutions, the road network in the greater Wuchang area is fragmented. With growing traffic demand, north-south traffic is clearly insufficient, especially in the greater Nanhu area to the north of Wuluo Road-Luoyu Road and to the Hankou area. The north-south corridors in the core area of Wuchang are only Friendship Avenue-Zhongshan Road and the Second Ring Road, two continuous arterial roads with an average spacing of 4 to 5 kilometers, far exceeding the national standard of 1 to 2 kilometers. The sections along Zhongshan Road from Dadongmen to Xiaodongmen to Wuchang Railway Station, and the Second Ring Road from East Lake Road to Fruit Lake Tunnel to Jiedaokou to Xiongchu Avenue, have long been on Wuhan's road congestion list. Currently, the Fruit Lake Tunnel and North Luoshi Road have become congested sections of the Second Ring Road. During morning and evening peaks, the tunnel has reached saturation, with a flow of 5,400 vehicles per hour and speeds below 20 km/h.

2. Strengthen traffic connections among Nanhu, Optics Valley, Qingshan, and Hankou

At 10 a.m. on January 8, a reporter drove from Liyuan Square to experience the route. Although the East Lake Road section near the Provincial Museum was partially occupied for subway construction, traffic towards the Fruit Lake Tunnel was still relatively smooth, with driving speeds up to 60 km/h. After entering the Fruit Lake Tunnel, there were many curves and speed was reduced. Exiting the tunnel onto the Luoshi Road elevated bridge, the whole trip took about 6 minutes.

At 5:30 p.m., when the reporter again entered the main road of the Second Ring Road from Liyuan Square, traffic volume had increased significantly, and driving was congested, stop-and-go all the way. Entering the Fruit Lake Tunnel, traffic was even slower. It was not until 6:10 p.m. that the reporter reached the entrance of the Fruit Lake Tunnel. A distance of just a few kilometers took 40 minutes.

According to big data surveys, vehicles currently passing through the Fruit Lake Tunnel mainly come from four areas: Nanhu, Optics Valley, Qingshan, and Hankou. Among them, traffic entering the tunnel from the south mainly comes from Nanhu and Optics Valley, while traffic entering from the north mainly comes from Qingshan and Hankou. Therefore, the construction of the Two Lakes Tunnel should focus on traffic connections with these four areas to effectively divert traffic from the Fruit Lake Tunnel.

3. System model analysis "selects" the route alignment

The Wuhan Planning and Research Institute explained that the Two Lakes Tunnel is an important supplement to the urban expressway system, serving as a diversion channel for the Wuchang section of the Second Ring Road, facilitating travel in areas such as Nanhu and Fruit Lake, and meeting medium- and long-distance travel needs. Based on this functional positioning, the alignment is in principle parallel to the Fruit Lake Tunnel-Luoshi Road. From the perspectives of regional road network layout, construction feasibility, and reducing environmental impact, this alignment is unique. System model predictions and analysis show that the construction of the Two Lakes Tunnel project will significantly improve the service level of the regional road network.

Wuhan public security traffic management department said that after the Two Lakes Tunnel is completed, a north-south rapid corridor will be formed in the greater Wuchang area, effectively alleviating traffic pressure on surrounding roads such as the Second Ring Road, Luoshi Road, and Fruit Lake Tunnel. It will not only enhance north-south traffic capacity in the greater Wuchang area and reduce traffic pressure in the East Lake Scenic Area during holidays, but also open a new traffic route between the greater Nanhu area, Wuchang Fruit Lake area, and Hankou. In addition, after the Two Lakes Tunnel opens, citizens in the greater Nanhu and Optics Valley areas will find it much more convenient to go to Wuhan Railway Station, and congestion along the Third Ring Road from Huanle Avenue to Wuhan Railway Station will be significantly alleviated.

4. Tunnel should refer to big data on Nanhu population travel

It is reported that during the deliberation of the government work report, the amendment suggestion to add "start construction of the East Lake-South Lake 'Two Lakes Tunnel'" came from the Hongshan delegation at the Fourth Session of the 14th Wuhan Municipal People's Congress. In last year's Hongshan District government work report, "further improve the regional road network, focus on promoting the Two Lakes Tunnel" was also clearly listed as one of the key tasks for this year.

Tan Gangyi, a Wuhan Municipal People's Congress deputy and member of the Hongshan District delegation, suggested that when building the Two Lakes Tunnel, it is essential to refer to big data on population, business formats, and travel in the Nanhu area to make reasonable analysis, calculations, and overall planning. He believes that the starting point for building an underground rapid corridor is to use three-dimensional transportation to speed up travel. Referring to big data on traffic flow and resident travel on various roads and intersections in the Nanhu area, building the Two Lakes Tunnel will effectively alleviate travel difficulties for residents in the Nanhu area.

Tan Gangyi said that although the main roads in Wuchang and Hongshan areas are wide, the blocks are large, branch roads are few, and road density is low. Simply widening roads and building elevated bridges cannot solve the problem, and they also affect the overall urban landscape and citizens' lives. From this perspective, the advantages of tunnels are obvious.

5. Deputies and members call for strengthened green and civilized construction

"The construction of the Two Lakes Tunnel is very necessary to solve the travel difficulties of Nanhu residents," said Huang Jingnan, a Wuhan Municipal People's Congress deputy and vice dean of the School of Urban Construction at Wuhan University. Currently, traffic pressure on the Second Ring Road, South Luoshi Road, and Fruit Lake Tunnel is very high. After the Two Lakes Tunnel is completed, a rapid corridor will be formed from the Nanhu area to the north. He suggested that during construction, attention should be paid to maintaining continuity and smoothness with existing surrounding roads to meet citizens' travel direction needs. At the same time, because the Two Lakes Tunnel requires underwater construction, which is somewhat difficult, and passes through scenic areas and green space ecosystems, refined management during construction should be emphasized to reduce impacts on the environment and citizens.

Sun Meihua, a Wuhan CPPCC member and secretary-general of the Wuhan Municipal Committee of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, suggested that the construction party must implement refined management, be cautious with enclosure, and promptly restore roads to the public after construction.

Li Chunsheng, a Wuhan CPPCC member, also suggested fully considering the connection between the Two Lakes Tunnel and surrounding traffic routes, especially solving the traffic bottleneck problem at tunnel entrances and exits, and comprehensively improving road accessibility.