Office workers in Taihu New City and Xidong New City have a noticeable impression: no high-voltage power lines are visible in the sky, and roads are not frequently excavated. Where have the "trench digging" and "spider webs" common in old urban areas gone? The reporter recently learned that the city has built nearly 30 kilometers of underground utility tunnels, including a 27.8-kilometer "W"-shaped single and double-compartment tunnel in Taihu New City and a 1.75-kilometer "I"-shaped double-compartment tunnel in Xidong New City. The average cost is 30 million yuan per kilometer, accommodating utility pipelines for power, communications, tap water, reclaimed water, and other facilities in the core areas of the new cities.

　　Fine urban management is inseparable from well-developed municipal public facilities. Recently, after a rainstorm during the flood season, the reporter visited the underground utility tunnel on the north side of Qingyuan Road in Taihu New City. Walking upright inside, it felt like entering a "time tunnel." The air in the seemingly endless tunnel was slightly humid, and signs for high-voltage cables, communication optical cables, self-use cables, tap water pipes, and reclaimed water pipes hung on the brackets on both sides. A relevant person from the Taihu New City Development Group said that the double-compartment tunnel is 5.85 meters wide, 2.8 meters high, and 1.5 meters below the surface. The square passage reserves a large number of power supports and pipeline berths, which is expected to meet the needs of water and power pipeline entry into the tunnel for the next 50 years.

　　The property management supporting the utility tunnels in the two new cities is also unusual. "When it was first put into use in 2016, a rainstorm during the flood season caused rainwater to backflow at an opening on Ruijing Road, causing a short circuit in the tunnel transformer. The duty personnel discovered the danger in time and raised the transformer base by 80 centimeters." The person in charge of the Taihu New City utility tunnel control center introduced that the tunnel is equipped with ventilation, drainage, fire protection, and monitoring systems, which are centrally controlled by the center. In the underground utility tunnel of Xidong New City, the reporter saw that the entrances and ventilation openings of the tunnel are monitored, with a sandbag fire door every 200 meters, and an aerosol device similar to an air conditioner on the top that can automatically spray to extinguish fires in case of fire.

　　"In the past three years, there have been no road excavations along the 1.75-kilometer stretch of Xianfeng East Road due to new pipeline installation or pipeline maintenance." The person in charge of the Urban Management Bureau of the Xidong New City Business District introduced that now that communication optical cables have entered the tunnel, upgrading bandwidth and changing lines only takes "one working day" inside the tunnel. "Last year, the water company derusted and painted the tap water pipes in the tunnel, which was completely impossible for the previously buried tap water pipes." The person in charge said that if any pipeline in the tunnel has a problem, as long as the type and location of the pipeline are confirmed, it can be repaired immediately, saving time and effort.

　　It is understood that two years ago, the city issued a special plan for underground utility tunnels, with a planned total length of more than 300 kilometers. Up to now, the city has only 30 kilometers in the two new cities. A person from the Taihu New City Development Group admitted that compared with the cost of 30 million yuan per kilometer, the long-term effects of urban construction quality and public facilities should be valued more. "Pipelines moving into 'collective dormitories' is not a once-and-for-all solution. Whether they can operate healthily still requires the coordination and cooperation of various pipeline units."