The Yangtze River, once a formidable natural barrier, has become a thoroughfare—not only by bridges but also by tunnels! At 11 a.m. on July 1st, 2025, the highly anticipated Wuhu Longwan Yangtze River Tunnel officially opened to traffic. From that point on, driving from Jiangbei New Area to the opposite Wuhu Dalongwan downtown area has been reduced from 40 minutes to just 5 minutes.

As Anhui Province’s first river-crossing tunnel, the Wuhu Longwan Yangtze River Tunnel is hailed as the “Number One Tunnel of the 800-li Wanjiang River (The Anhui section of the Yangtze River).” The tunnel is located at the great bend of the Yangtze River in Wuhu City. It connects Longwan Road in Jiangbei New Area on the north side, passes underneath the Yangtze River, and links to Dagongshan Road in the urban area on the south side. The tunnel is 6 kilometers long, features six lanes (three in each direction) of urban expressway, and is designed for a speed of 80 km/h.

Beneath the Yangtze River, the geology is complex. The tunnel boring machine had to traverse over 10 types of mixed strata over a long distance, making it a “geological museum” of shield tunneling. According to Wang Chengzhen, commander of the China Railway 14th Bureau’s Wuhu Yangtze River Tunnel Construction Headquarters, to tackle the complicated geological conditions under the riverbed, the project used two giant 15.07-meter-diameter slurry shield machines tunneling in the same direction for the first time. They overcame challenges such as uneven soft and hard composite cohesive soils and fractured fault zones. Over 1,228 days of construction, more than 20 key core technologies were developed to ensure steady shield tunneling under the Yangtze River.

The Wuhu Longwan Yangtze River Tunnel is one of the backbone routes in Wuhu’s “Two Vertical, Four Horizontal, One Ring” urban expressway system. The tunnel is about 9 kilometers from the downstream Wuhu Yangtze River Bridge and about 5.5 kilometers from the Wuhu Yangtze River Third Bridge, connecting Jiangbei central district, Jiangnan central district, and the new science and education industrial area.

According to a planning official from Anhui’s Department of Transportation, with the opening of the Wuhu Longwan Tunnel, Anhui has now completed 11 river-crossing passages—10 Yangtze River bridges and 1 river-crossing tunnel. Additionally, projects such as the G3 Tongling Yangtze River Rail-and-Road Bridge and Chizhou Yangtze River Rail-and-Road Bridge are progressing rapidly.

Source: Anhui Daily