Longest road for Beijing Olympics opens for traffic

The longest highway designed for 2008 Beijing Olympics, linking the Olympic Village and the Olympic Water Park in the east suburban area, opens to traffic on Monday.

The Baima Road, about 20 km long and with a speed limit of 60 kmph, will serve as a major artery in the Chinese capital that provides convenient and fast access to the Olympic venue in Shunyi District.

Zhou Zhengyu, deputy director of Beijing Traffic Management Commission, said it would take 30 minutes for athletes from the Olympic Village in northern Beijing to reach the Water Park via the road.

He said an exclusive lane would be reserved on the highway for Olympic vehicles.

According to Zhou, auxiliary roads and overpasses will be built near the northern section of the fifth ring road, where many Olympic venues are located, to ease traffic pressure.