A rendering of the Taicang-Changzhou section of the Shanghai-Wuhan Expressway. [Photo/zjgonline.com.cn]

The extension project of the Taicang-Changzhou section of the Shanghai-Wuhan Expressway was recently initiated.

The 135-kilometer section passes through several county-level cities, including Changshu, Zhangjiagang, and Jiangyin.

The current highway, which was open to traffic in 2004 and has only four lanes, is often congested with traffic now due to the large populations in cities along the road.

To address the issue, four or six more lanes will be added to the highway to ease the congestion. Construction is expected to be finished in four years and cost 36 billion yuan ($5.26 billion).

The Zhangjiagang section of the highway is 18.8 kilometers long and will be extended to eight lanes – four lanes in each direction.

The construction contractor, Jiangsu Provincial Transportation Project Construction Bureau, will work with traffic police and other authorities to reduce the extension project's impact on traffic as much as possible.