After 500 days of construction, on the morning of August 28, the right tube of the newly built Lotus Mountain No. 1 Extra-Long Tunnel—the longest tunnel of the Guangdong Shanmei Expressway reconstruction and expansion project—was successfully holed through. With this, the tunnel has achieved full breakthrough of both tubes, laying a solid foundation for the first major traffic diversion within the year and for subsequent opening to traffic on schedule.

The newly built Lotus Mountain No. 1 Extra-Long Tunnel is located in Fengshun, Meizhou. Its left tube, 3,213 meters long, has already been holed through. The right tube holed through this time is 3,185 meters long, with a maximum burial depth of 380 meters, a maximum excavation width of 13.53 meters, and a maximum excavation cross-section of 112.25 square meters. In the face of complex geological conditions in the mountainous and hilly terrain, the tunnel's intelligent management and control center integrates a precise personnel positioning system, a comprehensive AI monitoring system, a gas detection system, and a safety step-distance detection system. Construction workers entering the tunnel all carry smart devices with built-in chips, enabling full-process visual supervision of the construction process and giving the site "eyes, ears, and a nose" to ensure tunnel construction quality and worker safety.

After the breakthrough of the newly built Lotus Mountain No. 1 Extra-Long Tunnel, the original Lotus Mountain Tunnel will also be upgraded and renovated, with the upgrade expected to be completed by the end of next year.

The Shanmei Expressway reconstruction and expansion project is scheduled to be completed and opened to traffic in mid-2026. Upon completion, the two-way four-lane road will be transformed into a two-way eight-lane road, which will play an important role in improving the highway network functions of Meizhou and Shantou, enhancing the traffic efficiency and service level of the Shanmei Expressway, and accelerating economic and tourism development along the route.