(Yicai) Dec. 30 -- Henan province in central China completed 17 expressway projects this year, pushing its total highway network past 10,000 kilometers, and making it the fifth province in the country to reach the milestone.

With the 15.2-km Jingwu Yellow River Bridge opening today, the Anyang-Luoshan Expressway in Henan is now fully connected, bringing the province’s total freeway network to 10,088 km, the province’s department of transportation said on social media platform WeChat today.

Before Henan, just four provincial-level regions in China, namely southern Guangdong province, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region as well as southwestern Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, had crossed the 10,000-km mark.

As of the end of last year, Henan had only 8,962 km of expressways. However, this figure has increased significantly with the completion of 17 highways this year, including the Along The Yellow River Expressway.

Henan invested CNY375.6 billion (USD53.7 billion) in expressway construction during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, which runs from 2021 to 2025. It added more than 2,900 km, 3.6 times the length added during the previous Five-Year Plan, the provincial government said at a press conference in October.

As the 14th Five-Year Plan wraps up, provinces across China are racing to meet their goals, with major engineering projects coming online rapidly.

The Yangchun-Xinyi Expressway in southern Guangdong province opened to traffic on Dec. 28, marking the completion of the 10th highway project this year with a total mileage of over 400 km. The Chinese province with the biggest economy now has a freeway network of more than 12,000 km.

Sichuan province saw 13 expressway projects completed and opened to traffic this month. The southwestern province has added 900 km of new expressways this year, bringing the total to 11,000 km.

Several other provinces are also approaching the 10,000 km milestone. Southwestern Guizhou province is expected to hit 9,563 km by the end of this year, while eastern Shandong province has already reached 9,240 km.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Kim Taylor