Shanghai In
Shanghai Municipality, the G42 is an eight-lane expressway which concurs with
G2 Beijing-Shanghai Expressway for its entire length, and has a speed limit of . The expressway begins at Wuning Road Interchange in Shanghai Middle Ring Road, traveling eastbound. Soon after the intersection with the
S20 Shanghai Outer Ring Expressway in
Jiading District, the expressway becomes a
tollway at
Jiangqiao toll plaza. In
Qingpu District, it intersects with
G15 Shenyang-Haikou Expressway via a
partial cloverleaf interchange. At
Anting Town, the G42 connects with
G1501 Shanghai Ring Expressway through a brief connector and two
trumpet interchanges, then intersects with the G1501 via an
overpass and enters
Kunshan, Jiangsu.
Jiangsu over the
Third Nanjing Yangtze Bridge The G42 is an eight-lane expressway throughout the province of Jiangsu and has a maximum speed limit of . It is run concurrently with
G2 Beijing-Shanghai Expressway until
Huishan District,
Wuxi, where it splits with the northeast-bound G2 and continues east. The expressway bypasses downtown
Kunshan and meets
Suzhou Ring Expressway (concurs with
Jiangsu S5 Changzhou-Jiaxing Expressway). The expressway then travels northwest to downtown
Suzhou and intersects with
G15W Changshu-Taizhou Expressway at
Wuzhong District, Suzhou. From there the expressway turns slightly north and again encounters the
Suzhou Ring Expressway (
Jiangsu S9 Suzhou-Shaoxing Expressway) before entering
Wuxi. In Wuxi, the expressway intersects with
Jiangsu S19 Taihu Lake Ring Expressway before bypassing downtown, and splits with G2 at
Tongjiang Avenue, continuing northwest. The G42 then connects with
Jiangsu S48 Shanghai-Yixing Expressway northwest of downtown Wuxi, and meets
Jiangsu S38/Anhui S24 Changshu-Hefei Expressway in
Wujin District,
Changzhou. Running north to the downtown Changzhou, G42 meets
Jiangsu S39 Jiangdu-Yixing Expressway in
Xinbei District, Changzhou. From there, G42 travels west, bypassing
Danyang and connecting to
Zhenjiang via
Jiangsu S86 Zhenjiang Auxiliary. After meeting
G4011 Yangzhou-Liyang Expressway in
Dantu District, Zhenjiang, G42 continues westbound and enters
Nanjing. In
Nanjing, G42 first intersects with the southeast portion of
G2503 Nanjing Ring Expressway, then follows a
partial cloverleaf interchange near
Purple Mountain,
Qixia District to interchange with northbound
G36 Nanjing-Luoyang Expressway. For its entire length south to
Yangtze River in Nanjing, G42 concurs with
Jiangsu S001 Highway and intersects with
G25 Changchun-Shenzhen Expressway near
Baixia District. At
Huashenmiao Interchange, the expressway interchanges with
Jiangsu S55 Nanjing-Xuancheng Expressway/
S88 Airport Expressway. Before crossing the Yangtze River, G42 connects to the north–south spur of
G4211 Nanjing-Wuhu Expressway and concurs with G2501 again. Through traffic is then carried across the Yangtze River by
Third Nanjing Yangtze Bridge, and the G42 splits with G2501 at an interchange to the east of
Laoshan National Forest Park, where G42 turns west and concurs with
G40 Shanghai-Xi'an Expressway for their remaining lengths in Jiangsu. At the town of
Zhouzhuang,
Pukou District, the expressway becomes a four-lane expressway and enters
Anhui Province at
Quanjiao County.
Anhui In Anhui Province, the G42 concurs with
G40 until
Huoqiu County, Lu'an, and is mostly a 4-lane limited-access expressway except for a section between
Feidong County and
Hefei, which has been expanded to an eight-lane expressway in 2009. The expressway has a maximum speed limit of east of Hefei, and to the west, except for the section between
Jinzhai County and Anhui-Hubei border, where a speed limit ( in tunnels) is enforced due to mountainous terrains. It concurs with
G40 southwest bound. At a
partial cloverleaf interchange east of
Feidong County, Hefei, G42 turns north and concurs with
G3 Beijing-Taipei Expressway and
G4001 Hefei Ring Expressway briefly before splitting with G3 and heads west again. Here, G42 continues to concur with G4011 until
Changfeng County, Hefei, where it continues westbound for
Lu'an. The expressway then intersects with G35 in
Yu'an District, Lu'an and splits with G40 at
Huoqiu County, Lu'an. From there, G42 heads southwest into the
Dabie Mountains. This portion of expressway generally follows the
Anhui S210 Highway corridor, but it bypasses the
Meishan Reservoir to the south, and is characterized by expansive bridges and lengthy tunnels. At the village of
Changlingguan Pass, the expressway crosses Anhui-Hubei border and enters
Macheng,
Hubei Province.
Hubei In Hubei Province, the G42 is a 4-lane limited access
tollway, with a speed limit of 100 km/h (62 mph) for its entire length, except for tunnels, in which an 80 km/h (50 mph) speed limit is enforced. The expressway enters Hubei at the town of
Muzidian and continues westbound to the
Dabie Mountains Tunnel. With a length of , the Dabie Mountains Tunnel is the longest tunnel on G42 east of
Wuhan. The G42 then heads southwest, bypassing
Macheng and intersects with
G45 Daqing-Guangzhou Expressway to the west of downtown Macheng. Continuing southwest, the expressway concurs with
Hubei S3 Wuhan-Macheng Expressway and turns west on
G4201 Wuhan Ring Expressway in
Xinzhou District, Wuhan, where it concurs briefly with
G70 Fuzhou-Yinchuan Expressway. Through traffic is then carried across the Yangtze River again via the
Yangluo Yangtze River Bridge. At the intersection with
Hubei S2 Wuhan-Xiaogan Expressway, G42 splits with G70, which concurs with S2 northwest bound, and continues southwest. It then meets
Hubei S18 Airport Expressway in
Huangpi District, Wuhan and
G4 Beijing-Hong Kong and Macau Expressway in
Dongxihu District, Wuhan. At the intersection with G4, G42 splits with G4201 and continues westbound. It intersects with
Hubei S49 Suizhou-Yueyang Expressway in
Tianmen and
G55 Erenhot-Guangzhou Expressway to the southwest of downtown
Jingmen. The G42 heads slightly south to reach the hydropower city of
Yichang in
Yiling District, where it currently terminates at the intersection with
G50 Shanghai-Chongqing Expressway,
Hubei S48 Wuhan-Yichang Expressway (which becomes
Hubei S58 Three Gorges Expressway northwest of downtown Yichang), and
Hubei S63 Laohekou-Shishou Expressway.
Chongqing in Chongqing The G42 is unfinished in Chongqing. The temporary eastern terminus is at the
Wushan Interchange in
Wushan County. From there the G42 is continuous throughout
Chongqing. Due to restraints of the difficult terrains, the maximum speed on the expressway has been set at 80 km/h (50 mph). The expressway runs parallel to the Yangtze River behind the mountains of
Three Gorges. At
Gujiaba Interchange, G42 intersects with the non designated
Wanzhou-Kai County Expressway. It then heads south and bypasses
Wanzhou District. At Qinggangba Interchange, the G42 turns westbound and intersects with the
Chongqing-Yibin Expressway, which spurs into the downtown of
Wanzhou and becomes the
G318 National Highway. G42 travels southwest until encountering
G50 again in
Taiping Interchange,
Dianjiang County. The expressway would then travel westbound and enters
Mingyue Mountain Tunnel, through which it crosses the Chongqing-Sichuan border and enters
Sichuan Province.
Sichuan In Sichuan Province, the G42 is a four-lane expressway with a speed limit of 80 km/h (50 mph), except for a few sections in
Nanchong and
Guang'an, where a 100 km/h (62 mph) speed limit is enforced. At
Linshui County,
Guang'an, the expressway encounters
G65 Baotou-Maoming Expressway and turns northwest bound. It then bypasses
Guang'an and continues northwest until intersecting with the unsigned northbound
Nanchong Ring Expressway and southbound
G75 Lanzhou-Haikou Expressway in
Nanchong. The expressway would then continue southwest bound and meet
G93 Chengdu-Chongqing Ring Expressway in
Chuanshan District, Suining, and bypasses
Suining to the north of its downtown. It crosses the
Fu River and intersects with the unsigned
Huimazhen-Suining Expressway. From there, the expressway continues to the city of Chengdu, where it intersects with
G4201 Chengdu Ring Expressway in
Longquanyi District at
Luoshiba Interchange and proceeds to the
East 3rd Ring Road. The G42 terminates after passing the East 3rd Ring Road and dipping briefly onto the
East Erxianqiao Road. ==References==