Beijing's Mentougou district completes road reconstruction project after devastating summer floods

After eight months, Beijing's Mentougou district has successfully restored and rebuilt all roads ravaged by heavy rain and floods last summer, according to the district branch of the city's transport commission, a significant milestone in the region's recovery efforts.

Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province suffered from severe rainstorms and flooding in late July and early August last year, affecting 1.29 million people and causing widespread economic losses.

West Beijing's Mengoutou and Fangshan districts were the two areas affected the most.

Since then, hundreds of projects have been undertaken for post-flood reconstruction.

Those projects cover residential housing, infrastructure, public services, the ecological environment, village construction and industrial revitalization, according to the city government.

The comprehensive road reconstruction project in Mentougou encompassed 28 county-level and above highways, spanning a restored and rebuilt distance of 149.2 km across 1,082 sections.

The completion of this project has not only rejuvenated the region's infrastructure but has also bolstered the disaster resilience of the mountain roads in the district, ensuring enhanced safety and durability for the future.

Initiated on Sep 30, the project faced challenges, including tight deadlines and a multitude of tasks.

Zhao Xin, head of the Engineering Management Department at the Mentougou Highway Sub-Bureau, said 3,500 laborers and approximately 500 sets of machinery have been deployed throughout the project's duration.

As part of the restoration efforts, Mentougou district undertook the construction of nine new road bridges, significantly augmenting their water passage capacity and fortifying the region's transportation infrastructure against future calamities.

With the impending arrival of a new flood season, Zheng Peng, a government official in the maintenance and management department of the district's highway sector, underscored the meticulous preparations undertaken by the district's road system for flood prevention.

"This year, our focus has been on enhancing our emergency response capabilities during the flood season," he added.