March is a season of little rainfall and sunny weather—ideal for building works. Constructors are hard at work pressing ahead with construction on all sections of the Luding-Shimian Expressway, taking full advantage of this choicest time.

　　Workers bustle about amid the roar of machines at Anjingba Comprehensive Depot in Anjing village, Shimian county. The sewage at the construction site is treated by automatic sewage treatment equipment, which separates sand from stone, precipitates the mud generated in this process and converts it into recyclable industrial water. According to the project superintendent, this recycling process stops sewage from flowing into the urban pipe network and the project achieves zero discharge by treating 200 cubic meters (tons) of sewage daily.

　　At its construction site in Luding County, the magnificent 1,518-meter-long steel-structure Detuote Bridge spans the river below. The project constructors overcome the difficulties presented by the precipitous terrain and complex geology. They innovatively adopt the “concrete filled steel tube truss pier + double steel boxes composite beam” bridge structure, and assemble modules in bridge construction. This methodology cuts cost, shortens the construction period and improves the safety coefficient of the bridge.

　　Luding-Shimian Expressway runs 97 kilometers or so along the Dadu River, crossing gullies and passing through mountains all its way. It is the second expressway in Ganzi Prefecture, built by the standards set for two-way, four-lane expressways and designed to run a speed of 80 km/h. Luding-Shimian Expressway deserves the name of tourism route. It starts from Sangangping, Zanli Village, Luding County, and ends at Dashanshu Terminal Interchange on Ya’an-Xichang Expressway, seamlessly connecting Ya’an-Xichang Expressway and Ya’an-Kangding Expressway (two traffic arteries in western Sichuan) and linking Hailuogou Scenic Area, Tianwanhe Scenic Area and Anshun Red Tourist Attraction.

　　According to Xiao Feng, general manager of the Luding-Shimian Expressway project launched by STIG Sichuan Tibetan Area Expressway Co., Ltd., Luding-Shimian Expressway passes through red tourist attractions such as Anshunchang and Moxi Conference Site. It points to the direction of the Long March of the Red Army, hence the name Red Road. Sculpture, horticulture, sound and light and new media will be integrated into follow-up project construction to make the expressway a red expressway that “tells the story of revolutionaries and promotes Long March culture.”

　　The construction of Luding-Shimian Expressway, scheduled to be completed in four years, got underway in 2019. Upon completion, the 2.5-hour trip from Luding to Shimian will be shortened to about one hour, and people will be able to commute between these two cities within just one hour.