Jinan is on the verge of completing the final piece of its ambitious “Fourth Ring” expressway network, a project expected to reshape transportation across the Jinan metropolitan area and beyond.
The latest development came with the completion of bidding for the survey and design of the southern section of the G9911 Jinan Metropolitan Ring Expressway, a project with a total investment of approximately 20.72 billion yuan (USD 2.85 billion). Construction will soon begin, filling in the last gap of Jinan’s outer ring system.
From "Three Rings" to "Four Rings"
Jinan already operates a “Three-Ring” expressway system formed by the G2001 ring road and several major national highways. However, rising traffic volumes have increasingly strained capacity. The new “Big Four-Ring” (大四环), composed of the Jinan-Gaotang, East, South (planned), West, and North expressways, will not only divert through-traffic away from the current ring road but also strengthen connections with neighboring cities such as Zibo, Tai’an, and Liaocheng.
For Jinan residents, this means the current “Third Ring” will effectively become an urban inner ring, while the new “Fourth Ring” takes over the role of accommodating regional and long-distance traffic.
Expressways in the Metropolitan Era: Free or Toll?
The expansion of metropolitan expressway networks is raising an increasingly pressing question: Should ring expressways remain tolled once they become urban roads?
Across China, as once “peripheral” ring roads become absorbed into expanding city centers, toll charges have created friction between convenience and cost. Residents often prefer free city roads, leading to congestion on urban arterials while tolled expressways remain underused for local commuting.
Cities across China are experimenting with solutions:
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Wuhan Metropolitan Area (Hubei): The Wuhuang Expressway, vital for connecting Wuhan, Ezhou, and Huangshi, became toll-free in 2022 after its concession expired. However, facing fiscal pressures, the province reintroduced a “partial toll” system in 2024.
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Zhengzhou (Henan): Since 2011, Zhengzhou has subsidized tolls through government-purchased services, allowing small local vehicles to use the ring expressway free of charge. The policy was recently expanded to cover routes linking Zhengzhou with Kaifeng and Lankao, benefiting around 30 million trips annually.
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Nanjing (Jiangsu): In 2024, Nanjing launched a differentiated toll policy, offering half-price expressway fees for high-frequency commuters driving locally registered vehicles.
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Taiyuan (Shanxi): Portions of its ring expressway have been fully converted into free urban expressways, accelerating integration with neighboring districts.
These varied approaches reflect the challenge: balancing fiscal sustainability with regional integration.
A Wider Context: Infrastructure as the Driver of Integration
Jinan’s Fourth Ring is just one component of a broader transportation overhaul reshaping the provincial capital. Recent milestones include:
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Completion of the 11-km Industrial South Road reconstruction, turning the city’s key east-west corridor into a modernized smart urban road.
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Opening of the Jiluo Road North Extension Yellow River Tunnel, one of several major cross-Yellow River projects, cutting travel time between central Jinan and the new “Starting Area” north of the river to just minutes.
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Revitalization of the iconic Zero Point Interchange, now rebuilt as a four-level turbine-style mega-hub, integrating highways, urban expressways, and metro lines.
Looking ahead, Jinan plans to:
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Expand metro lines 4 and 8 by the end of 2025.
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Accelerate construction of new Yellow River tunnels and bridges, with 34 crossings planned in total.
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Push forward with the second phase expansion of Jinan International Airport, aiming for an annual passenger capacity of 55 million and positioning the city as a major North China aviation hub.
The Bigger Picture
As metropolitan areas emerge across China, Jinan offers a telling case study. The Fourth Ring is more than a road project—it is a test of governance capacity, requiring not only engineering but also policy innovation on tolling, fiscal support, and cross-city cooperation.
Whether through toll-free models, government subsidies, or differentiated pricing, the ultimate goal is clear: to break down transportation barriers and foster deep integration of people, industries, and cities.
For Jinan, completing its “Four-Ring Era” is both a symbolic and practical leap—linking its historic core, new northern development zones, and surrounding cities into one cohesive metropolitan region.