Shandong’s 1.35-trillion-yuan investment is strengthening the province’s transportation infrastructure.

　　The Shandong section of the Xiongshang High-Speed Railway has begun joint debugging and testing, the construction of the Qingzhang Expressway Yellow River Super Bridge is in full swing, and the second phase of the Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport expansion project is entering its final sprint... Since the beginning of this year, Shandong's transportation projects have played the role of a "ballast stone" in infrastructure construction. In the first quarter, the province's transportation investment reached 56.57 billion yuan, accounting for 24.6% of the annual target, an increase of 1.6 percentage points compared to the same period last year.

　　This year marks the first year of the "15th Five-Year Plan" and is also a critical year for the construction of the Shandong Demonstration Zone for a Strong Transportation Nation. The recently released "Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of Shandong Province" focuses on "leading the way and taking the lead," requiring adherence to "smooth channels, optimized networks, strong hubs, and promoted upgrades," strengthening cross-regional coordinated layout and integrated intermodal connections, comprehensively improving the comprehensive benefits of transportation infrastructure, and building the Shandong Demonstration Zone for a Strong Transportation Nation at a high level.

　　The first-quarter investment has set a good start for the construction of the "15th Five-Year Plan" comprehensive three-dimensional transportation network. Shandong's transportation system will continue to maintain high morale, seize opportunities, and strive forward to ensure the completion of the 230 billion yuan investment task this year, making great strides toward achieving the 1.35 trillion yuan investment target during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period.

　　High-Speed Rail Fills Gaps and Connects Main Lines

　　On April 1, a yellow-and-white comprehensive inspection train departed from Liaocheng West Station, marking the official start of the step-by-step speed-up testing of the joint debugging and testing of the Shandong section of the Xiongshang High-Speed Railway, with plans to sprint to the maximum test speed of 385 kilometers per hour in about 25 days. "By the end of September this year, the Xiongshang High-Speed Railway will be ready for operation," the project engineer introduced. The Shandong section of the Xiongshang High-Speed Railway connects multiple areas in western Shandong and links the north-south main lines, playing a significant role in filling the regional high-speed rail gap, restructuring the railway hub layout, and empowering regional economic development.

　　During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, Shandong will create a rail-based peninsula city cluster, completing high-speed rail projects such as Xiongshang, Jinwei, Jibin, Jizao, Weisuo, and the Qingdao connection line, opening up the north-south Beijing-Hong Kong-Taipei corridor and the Beijing-Shanghai auxiliary corridor. By 2030, the province's high-speed railway operating mileage will reach about 4,600 kilometers, achieving "high-speed rail access in every city." Currently, Shandong has six high-speed railways under construction, ranking among the top in the country, with builders working hard to advance construction.

　　Highways are the "lifeblood" of economic and social development and the "bond" of people's happiness. In recent years, Shandong has been fully committed to building the "Smooth Qilu" expressway network, injecting strong momentum into the construction of the Shandong Demonstration Zone for a Strong Transportation Nation through smooth road networks, excellent services, and vigorous innovation.

　　In the next five years, Shandong will promote the construction of parallel lines for main expressway corridors and regional connection lines, implement the construction of unconnected sections of national expressways and the expansion and renovation of busy sections, and advance the integrated connection of urban ring expressways and rapid roads, enhancing the connectivity and accessibility between the Jinan-Qingdao metropolitan area and key cities. By the end of the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, the province's expressway operating mileage will reach 11,000 kilometers, achieving "dual expressways in every county."

　　Above the Yellow River, the Qingzhang Expressway Yellow River Super Bridge is at a critical stage of upper structure construction. As the core control project of the project, the Yellow River Super Bridge has a total length of 4,669.5 meters, with its main bridge span setting three "world records." Construction workers are "building blocks" on the Yellow River, with over 30% of the bridge's steel box girders and over 70% of the UHPC (Ultra-High Performance Concrete) girders already installed.

　　"Seamless Connection" of Winter and Spring Construction

　　In the first quarter of this year, Shandong made simultaneous progress in railways, highways, waterways, airports, and urban rail transit, with 134 key transportation projects advancing smoothly. Investments of 13.53 billion yuan, 17.6 billion yuan, 9.06 billion yuan, 2.8 billion yuan, and 10.77 billion yuan were completed in railway, highway, waterway, airport, and urban rail transit construction, respectively. Major projects such as the 300,000-ton crude oil terminal tank area project in Rizhao Port Lanshan Port Area and the western section of Jinan Rail Transit Line 6 have accelerated their progress.

　　The first-quarter success is the first report card of Shandong's transportation proactive command and service work model for the "15th Five-Year Plan." This year, Shandong's transportation construction achieved a "seamless connection" between winter and spring, seizing the "golden period" of spring construction. Ten key projects, including the second phase of Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport and the Jibin High-Speed Railway, continued construction during the Spring Festival, and six transportation construction projects started ahead of schedule in the first quarter. The Shandong Provincial Department of Transportation adhered to early planning and strong coordination, implementing a "combination punch" of document guidance, plan promotion, incentive guidance, and on-site supervision. Measures included "scientific deployment before the holiday + commendation and incentive + special supervision after the holiday + strengthened on-site supervision," quickly igniting a construction boom across the province and achieving substantial progress.

　　To overcome bottlenecks, the Shandong Provincial Department of Transportation strengthened cross-departmental collaboration, incorporating 99 transportation projects into the provincial key project database with priority resource allocation. It carried out a special "government-finance-enterprise" targeted docking action, actively helping cities and projects secure 45.5 billion yuan in special bond funds, and successfully resolved challenging issues such as the mineral resource overlap on the Liangyun Expressway and the cross-city enclave compilation for the Changshen Expressway expansion project. Land use for six expressway projects was successfully approved.