In the mountainous regions of Guizhou, Yunnan, and Sichuan, China is using explosives and heavy machinery to cut mountains in half. This technique, which reduces travel times from hours to minutes, is presented as a cheaper and easier-to-maintain alternative to tunnels in unstable terrain. A bet on infrastructure that transforms the landscape and connectivity. 🏔️
Slopes instead of tunnels: Chinese pragmatic engineering 🚜
Faced with the geological instability of karst soils, where tunnels require expensive linings and drainage systems, the direct cutting of mountains simplifies construction. A gap up to 50 meters wide is excavated, the slopes are stabilized with shotcrete and anchors, and the road is laid out. Maintenance is reduced to clearing surface landslides, avoiding the complex problems of leaks and subsidence that affect tunnels in these areas.
Goodbye, mountain; hello, toll highway 🛣️
While in the West we conduct three-year environmental impact studies to install a speed bump, China decides the mountain is in the way and splits it like a potato chip. Anyway, they later plant trees on the sides of the cut and everyone is happy. And the best part: if the road gets potholes, you just add more asphalt, without having to pray that the tunnel doesn't collapse on top of you. Efficiency, they call it.