China Plans to Build More Highways in 2007

Submitted by Paul Ellis

According to China Daily, China will build at least 5,000 kilometers of expressways next year, bringing the total length of expressways in the nation to over 50,000 kilometers by the end of 2007. The Asian nation currently has 45,400 kilometers of expressways, the second most in the world after the United States, and plans to have 85,000 kilometers of expressways by 2020. By comparison, the United States had 90,000 kilometers in 2005.

China's burgeoning growth is often cited as a major factor driving the precipitous rise of highway projects locally and worldwide. Since the summer of 2003, prices for wood, concrete, steel and other basic materials have escalated largely due to classic supply-and-demand economics--with a huge portion of the demand coming from China.

It doesn't look like this curve will flatten anytime soon...

Paul Ellis is lead staff for RAMP; an employee of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber, Ellis led the Pierce County Transportation Advisory Committee (PCTAC), the community's largest transportation planning effort.