Airport Expressway

The Airport Expressway is an expressway in Beijing, China, which links central Beijing to the Beijing Capital International Airport. It is 19 km in length.

Opened in 1993, the expressway links Sanyuan Bridge on the northeastern 3rd Ring Road to Beijing Airport.

The Airport Expressway is named after Beijing Airport.

Route
The Airport Expressway runs entirely within the confines of the municipality of Beijing.

Basic Route: Beijing (Sanyuan Bridge - Siyuan - Beigao - Xiaotianzu - Beijing Capital International Airport)

Status: The entire expressway is complete.

History
The expressway opened on September 14, 1993, following a year-long construction effort which began on July 2, 1992. Previously, all traffic used the old Airport Road, which was tested to the limit in the early 1990s.

This expressway has slashed driving time to the airport from the previous hour (using the old airport road) to just around 15 minutes. It is convenient and traffic is usually smooth.

Extension into the 2nd Ring Road
A 2.5 km stretch of semi-expressway links Sanyuan Bridge on the 3rd Ring Road to the area between Dongzhimen and Xiaojieqiao on the 2nd Ring Road. Construction started in 2004, with the road opening on December 24, 2005.

Northern Approach Route
Further approach routes to the airport, most, if not all of them in the form of expressways, are on the drawing board. One of these has actually begun work, connecting neighbouring Jingcheng Expressway with the northern part of the airport, to form a northern approach route. This is the Northern Airport Line (Hanyu Pinyin: Jichang Beixian) and will be completed between 2005 and 2006.

It will commence at Lutong, just over halfway between the 5th Ring Road and the 6th Ring Road, on the Jingcheng Expressway. It will be a short 11 kilometres and connect with a projected airport ring road. This is expected to be completed in June 2006.

The Northern Approach Route is important because the current Airport Expressway is beginning to fill up with traffic. While traffic jams on the expresssway are infrequent, the frequent usage of the expressway and the incessant influx of visitors and users of the airport are factors influencing the construction of the Northern Approach Route. At rare times, the total vehicle flow on the Airport Expressway overwhelmes the maximum projected limit.

In future, drivers can choose between the central approach route (Sanyuanqiao - Northeastern 4th Ring Road at Siyuan Bridge - Dashanzi - Xiaotianzu - Beijng Airport) or the northern approach route (Taiyanggong on the Northeastern 3rd Ring Road - Jingcheng Expressway through Lutong - Beijing Airport).

2nd Airport Expressway
Also mentioned is the concept of a wholly new, second airport expressway, which would start from eastern Beijing. A second airport expressway will stretch 23 kilometres.

This second airport expressway would run between the eastern 5th Ring Road and the eastern 6th Ring Road, starting up north from the airport all the way through to the second Jingjin Expressway (bound for Tianjin).

Southern Airport Expressway
A southern Airport Expressway will open in 2007, linking the expressway to the Jingcheng Expressway, the 6th Ring Road, and the Jingping Expressway. This very route could also see an extension into the Badaling Expressway in the not-too-distant future.

Speed Limit
Leftmost lane: minimum 100 km/h, maximum 120 km/h. Other lanes: minimum 60 - 80 km/h, maximum 100 km/h.

Tolls
CNY 0.5/km as of 5th Ring Road intersection for sections south of the toll gate. Entire stretch from Sanyuanqiao to Beijing Capital International Airport costs CNY 10 (price for small passenger cars). Note: For frequent users, a sensor-style Express Transit Card is available.

Lanes
6 lanes (3 up, 3 down) uniformly.

Surface Conditions
Good.

Traffic
Good during the day. Mild traffic jams during rush hour, mostly in the southern section of the road near Beijing.

Major Exits
NE 3rd Ring Road, NE 4th Ring Road, Dashanzi, NE 5th Ring Road, Beigao, Xiaotianzu, Beijing Capital International Airport

Service Areas
None on the expressway. The Weigou exit has a gas station close to it (on the way back to Beijing).

Connections
Ring Roads of Beijing: Connects with the NE 3rd Ring Road at Sanyuanqiao, the NE 4th Ring Road at Siyuan, and the NE 5th Ring Road at Wuyuan Bridge.