Construction on the northeastern section of an expressway circling the capital of Hubei Province started Sunday.

The road will not only relieve the traffic bottleneck in the city, but also play the part of being a communications hub on four national highways linked to most parts of the country.

With an investment of 5 billion yuan,the 188-kilometer highway is designed to have a speed limit of 120 kph and the 28- meter wide, four-lane road is made of asphalt concrete.

Covering a total land of 2,215 square kilometers, the expressway will link up with the city's suburbs, satellite towns, tour sites, economic zones and hi-tech development zones.

(Xinhua 07/16/2001)