On February 28th, the pile foundation work simultaneously commenced for the Danjiangkou Third Main Canal Bridge, the Hanjiang River Super Major Bridge, and the Huilong River Bridge—key control projects of the Laokou to Nanzhang Expressway located in Xiangyang, Hubei. This marks the official start of construction for this expressway.

The Laokou to Nanzhang Expressway spans a total length of 89.7 kilometers with a design speed of 100 km/h. The project starts at Hongshanzui Town in Laokou City and ends at the Nanzhang Service Area of the Ma'an Expressway. It is constructed according to the standard for a dual four-lane expressway, with a roadbed width of 26 meters and features 10 interchange overpasses along the entire route. The project is invested by a consortium including Hanjiang State-Owned Capital Investment and others, and is constructed by China Construction Third Engineering Bureau. Among the key structures, the Hanjiang River Super Major Bridge, as a critical control project for the entire line, stretches 3798.5 meters across the Hanjiang River.

This project is part of the second high-speed corridor connecting the Xiangyang Metropolitan Area to the Wuhan Metropolitan Area. Upon completion, it will effectively alleviate the transportation bottleneck in the mountainous areas of northwestern Hubei and drive the quality improvement and efficiency enhancement of characteristic agriculture and eco-tourism industries along the route. Zhao Wanping, Assistant Commander of the Xiangyang Series Expressway Project Headquarters of China Construction Third Engineering Bureau, stated that the project department will scientifically organize construction and make every effort to accelerate and improve the efficiency of the project while ensuring quality and safety.