The Zhongshan section of Nansha-Zhongshan Expressway (aka Nanzhong Expressway) began construction on January 16. After completion, the driving time from Zhongshan to Nansha District, Guangzhou is expected to be shortened by more than half an hour.

This section includes two independent mega bridges. One of them is the Hengmenxi Bridge, which is the single-tower cable-stayed bridge with the largest span in China. As the most important feature of the whole project, the 912-meter-long bridge spans the Jiya and Xiaolan waterways.

Nanzhong Expressway is located in the core region of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, bridging Guangzhou and Zhongshan. It is connected to Zhuhai in the south, Jiangmen in the west and Shenzhen in the east. Moreover, it is a significant passage across the Pearl River Delta and a major project to connect the arterial roads of the country with Guangdong Province.

With a total length of 32.4 kilometers and an investment of over 20 billion yuan, Nanzhong Expressway has six lanes going each direction, and a speed limit of 100 km/h.

The Zhongshan section is 16 kilometers long. It starts from Minzhong Town and ends in Gangkou Town, with 5 interchanges along the route to connect several north-south arterial roads in Zhongshan. The preliminary work began in June last year, and the entire project is excepted to be finished by 2024.  The Zhongshan section will open to traffic simultaneously with the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge.