Communications and Transportation

In 1997, the city's communication infrastructure developed in the direction of high grade, three-dimensions and openness with 1.08 billion yuan invested. The dredging and realignment of the section of the Great Canal in the south of Jiangsu were completed; the projects of the Pingnan section of the No. 318 National Highway in Wujiang. The Taicang outer ring line No. 204 National Highway, Tai-Liu Line, the third ring line in the north of Changshu, the Donghutong northward connection line to the Shanghai-Nanjing Freeway and environmental dredging of urban waterways accomplished the predetermined objects in advance with guarantees in both quality and quantity; and the project of Suzhou-Jiaxing-Hangzhou Freeway, the main road linking up the southern and northern parts of the city was listed in the provincial ¡° Ninth Five-year ¡± plan in advance and its preparatory work started. At present, the city has actually 1,778 kilometers of highway, of which 235 kilometers are national highways, 300 kilometers provincial highways and 816 kilometers highways above grade two, altogether making up 45.9% of the total mileage of the city (the first of Jiangsu Province). The highways linking up Suzhou with its surrounding provinces and cities and its six counties (cities) are all above grade two and the density of highway is 20.9 kilometers per square kilometer. The navigable mileage of the inland waterways in the whole city is 2,898.7 kilometers, of which 2,249.6 kilometers are navigable to motor-driven boats or ships.

A communication network by water, highway, railway and air has come into being in the city. By the end of 1997, there were 427, 700 motor-driven vehicles in the whole city with 5.81 billion person kilometers of rotation volume of passenger transport and 4.5 billion ton kilometers of rotation volume of freight transport accomplished, respectively 3.5% more than and 11.5% less than the last year. The passenger dispatch volume of railway was 8, 006, 000 person times and the freight dispatch volume was 1, 579, 000 tons and the freight arrival volume was 6, 618, 000 tons. And the handling capacity of the inland river ports was 41, 710, 000, 40.7% more than the last year.