The city of Chongqing is home to 8 million in the urban core alone and is experiencing rapid growth in both expansion and population rates – the city population is expected to exceed 10 million by 2025. With such increasing development, Chongqing has taken steps toward addressing its urban planning problems – especially in its transport sector – in innovatively bizarre ways.
via The Straits Times
Highway Interchange
The recent completion of a highway interchange outside the city consists of 15 lanes going up 5 levels, extending out to 8 directions – with the highest layer being 37m above ground. The complexity of Huangjuewan interchange was said to be necessary to link the city’s core, airport and expressway. The project took 8 years to build and has netizens across China commenting “Who says that this saves time? If you take the wrong ramp you’ll be taking a day-long vacation”.
Via Shanghaiist
Subway Station
The country’s deepest subway, Hongtudi Station on Line 6 of the Chongqing Metro, lies 60m below Earth’s surface, three times deeper than typical bomb shelters. Using escalators, it takes more than three minutes to ascend from the depths of the station. Many commuters have expressed that they never want to be in a situation where escalators have broken down.
If that doesn’t seem enough, crews in the mountainous metropolis are tunnelling for an even deeper subway station that will be located below Hongtudi Station on Line 10 of the subway. The new station will be 94.5m below the surface, which will make it one of the deepest metro stations in the world upon completion.
via Chinasmack
Railway
Another way the country has come up to cope with overcrowding is constructing a railway line that runs through blocks of houses, solving problems such as demolishment of homes and the lack of space for building railways. According to residents, the sound of the trains passing through the block stands at 60 decibels – about as loud as a dishwasher.
via China Daily
Rooftop Road
This two-lane public road goes all the way up to the fifth storey of a building lined with trees and shops. The peculiar road was built for locals in the hilly neighbourhood to allow for easy navigation and access in the area. It was reported that special equipment blocks the noise of vehicles on the road.
via Sina English
Pedestrian Bridge
Not for those with acrophobia, this 30m-long pedestrian bridge is perched 40m above ground, which is about 13 storeys high. Many locals use the bridge to get to work as it leads directly to downtown.
By: Violet Koh
