China begins expressway construction linking quake-hit Wenchuan and Yingxiu

Special Report: 1st Anniversary of Wenchuan
Earthquake

CHENGDU, May 10 (Xinhua) -- China has begun building an expressway that would link two places worst hit by last May earthquake in southwestern
Sichuan Province -- Wenchuan County and Yingxiu Township.

The 52-kilometer expressway, which will allow motor
vehicles to run at 80 kilometers per hour, will have two lanes in each
direction. Construction of the project began Saturday and is scheduled to be
completed by 2012.

The expressway includes 30 bridges and eight tunnels.
Total investment is expected to reach 4.99 billion yuan (730.6 million U.S.
dollars), according to Sichuan Provincial Communications Department head Gao
Feng.

Wenchuan County was the epicenter of the
8.0-magnitude earthquake on May 12 last year and Yingxiu is a town under
Wenchuan's administration.

The two areas are now connected by a 56.6-kilometer
two-lane highway. The expressway is

the second route to link the two places.