Upgraded street ramps up progress in rural Shandong

Transportation project boosts incomes, helps manufacturers get products to market

Since May, a manufacturing company in a rural area of eastern China has greatly improved the transportation of its products thanks to the opening of an upgraded road.

"Transportation efficiency has increased three to five fold," said Ding Yuhao, a purchasing manager of the company in Xindian, Yucheng county, Shandong province. Jinan Ruinasi Door, Window and Curtain Wall Company mainly produces large windows and glass walls and requires large trucks to transport its products.

"We had to use smaller trucks to carry products from the factory to the main road, and then shift them to bigger trucks to carry on," Ding said, adding the company faced similar problems when it transported raw materials to its factory.

Since the road linking the factory to the nearby freeway network was upgraded and reopened in May, no more truck changes have been required. The upgraded road linking Yucheng county and Xindian is 16.1 kilometers long, and 21 meters wide with four lanes. The speed limit is 60 km per hour.

Before the upgrade, the road, built in 2010, was 8 meters wide with two lanes. The total investment in the upgrade project was 280 million yuan ($38.49 million), according to the Yucheng transport commission.

The road is part of the rural highway network in Yucheng, which has greatly improved transportation and travel for local residents and companies, said Pang Chenchen, an official from the transportation infrastructure assurance center in Yucheng.

The county's rural highway network now stretches 1,951 km. Since 2017, Yucheng has received multiple regional and national awards for its accomplishments in building rural roads. Last year, the county was selected as one of the national model counties for building rural roads, according to the local transportation commission.

Hou Runfang, head of the human and administration affairs department of Dezhou Victoria Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Company in Xindian, said transportation was restricted before the improvements.

"Back then, when two trucks passed each other, drivers had to be extremely careful," Hou said.

Every day, the farm produces and ships about 100 metric tons of fresh milk. Other agricultural products, such as cattle and feed, are brought to the farm, making transportation the lifeblood of the company.

"Each trip (from the farm to the county) saves up to half an hour. In the past, with poor road conditions, it was easy to get stuck in traffic," she said.

"There was no partition in the middle of the road, so some people easily crossed the road illegally, which raised safety concerns and further slowed the transportation speed," she said.

Fresh milk must be delivered quickly to ensure quality, and saving 30 minutes on transportation is very important, she said. "Our employees also find it more convenient to travel between work and home since the road was upgraded," Hou said.