Tarim Desert Highway


The Tarim Desert Highway, also known as the Cross-Desert Highway or Taklamakan Desert Highway, crosses the Taklamakan Desert in China. There are now three highways: two main highways and one branch highway.

Lunmin Highway

This highway links the cities of Luntai on National Highway 314 and Minfeng on National Highway 315, on the northern and southern edges of the Tarim Basin. The total length of the highway is approximately of the highway cross uninhabited areas covered by shifting sand dunes, making it the longest such highway in the world.

History

Construction on the highway began in 1993 because of expansion in the petroleum industry, requiring fast shipping across the Taklamakan desert. Construction was completed in 1995.

Maintenance

To prevent the shifting sands from covering the highway, bushes and other vegetation were planted next to the highway to anchor the sand with their roots. A massive irrigation system was constructed to pump water for the vegetation along the highway.

Services

At the halfway point along the desert highway, there are a few restaurants and a gas station. Except for pump house maintenance workers, the region is otherwise entirely uninhabited.

Gallery of Lunmin Highway

Taqie Highway

This highway, long, is a branch highway, connecting Tazhong on the Lunmin Highway, above, with Qiemo in the southeast direction on National Highway 315. It opened in 2002, and is called the autonomous region's S233 Highway.

Ahe Highway

This highway, long, opened in 2007, starts from Aral on National Highway 314, west of the historical town of Kucha, in Aksu Prefecture, goes southward along the Hetian River, and ends in Hetian on National Highway 315.