On November 18, the construction of the Kaijiang-Liangping (Sichuan Section) Expressway, which has drawn widespread attention, reached a major milestone: the right-tube portal of the Mingyueshan Tunnel, a controlling project of the entire line, was successfully excavated, officially kicking off the full-scale construction of the expressway.

According to reports, as the only double-tube separated micro-gas tunnel on the Kaijiang-Liangping Expressway (Sichuan Section), the Mingyueshan Tunnel has a left tube 1,899 meters long and a right tube 1,873 meters long, with a maximum burial depth of 191 meters. The surrounding rock is Grade IV and Grade V, and the tunnel passes through one fault fracture zone. The construction is highly difficult, making it one of the controlling projects of the entire line.

It is understood that the Kaijiang-Liangping Expressway (Sichuan Section) is 30.366 kilometers long, starting near Qiaoting Village, Kaijiang County, Dazhou City, Sichuan Province, and ending in Liangping District, Chongqing. The project adopts the technical standard of a two-way four-lane expressway with a design speed of 100 km/h. The entire line has three interchanges, including one hub interchange (Kaijiang East Hub Interchange, connecting to the Da-Wan Section of the Enshi-Guangyuan Expressway) and two local interchanges (Gantang Interchange and Renshi Interchange); one micro-gas tunnel; and 21 bridges totaling 8,097 meters, including one mainline extra-large bridge of 1,428 meters, 20 large and medium bridges totaling 5,299 meters, and 13 connecting line and ramp bridges totaling 1,370 meters.

As an important inter-provincial corridor to strengthen connectivity between adjacent areas of the Chengdu-Chongqing Twin-City Economic Circle and promote the integrated development of the "Wandaokai" region, it is also the first transportation project implemented since the planning of the Twin-City Economic Circle and the first inter-provincial expressway jointly launched by Sichuan and Chongqing since Chongqing became a municipality. Since its project approval, the Kaijiang-Liangping Expressway has attracted widespread attention from all sectors of society in Sichuan and Chongqing.

After completion, the Kaijiang-Liangping Expressway will benefit 20 townships in Kaijiang County, Dachuan District, and Liangping District of Chongqing, with a beneficiary population of 1.5 million. It will become another major transportation artery between Chengdu and Chongqing, greatly improving the transportation environment along the route and promoting the development of eco-tourism, enhancing exchanges and connections between Dazhou City and Kaijiang County and Chongqing Municipality and Liangping District, and injecting strong momentum into the high-quality development of Sichuan and Chongqing during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period.