Beijing’s 7th ring road to reach Tianjin, Hebei   

(ECNS) – Beijing's seventh ring expressway will sprawl well beyond the city limits, according to transport authorities.

Hebei's Minister of Transport Gao Jinhao said in an interview Wednesday that Beijing will build a seventh ring road that connects with Tianjin, as well as Hebei province cities such as Langfang, Zhangjiakou and Chengde.

Estimated to be 940 kilometers (about 584 miles) long, the road will be the inner circle of two planned expressways to link adjacent cities with the capital. The outer circle will be a 1250km (777 miles) road that stretches further into Hebei.

Upon completion, the two circles will cut the commute time between Beijing, Tianjin and Shijiazhuang (Hebei's capital city) to one hour.

The final transport layout will be more complicated than that, with highways and roads connecting more cities and counties, according to Gao.

The construction is part of a giant project to speed up the economic development of Tianjin and Hebei, and to realize the integrated development of the capital region.

Gao didn't provide a timetable for the construction of the roads.