The government of the People's Republic of China is constructing a national trunk highway system, a 35,000-km network of interprovincial expressways, during 1991-2010. As part of this network, a priority 1,867-km Beijing-Tongjiang route in northeastern China has recently been completed, costing about 37 billion yuan. As a result, developmental impacts are beginning to emerge. An evaluation is presented of the impact of the new Beijing-Tongjiang route on transport services, economic activities, social services, and environmental and social issues. Changes in economic and social indicators were quantified by comparing (a) before-and-after project conditions, (b) the project area and a control area, and (c) the project area situation and national or provincial trends. Recognizing the difficulty in isolating the expressway impact from other factors, the study concluded that the new route is associated with local economic development because of improved accessibility. Travel time has been reduced from 35 to 17 h for cars. Industrial plants have been built along the expressway, and tourism has developed along it. Some feeder roads upgraded along with expressway construction now serve 3.3 million rural residents in Liaoning Province.
Abstract