Qingdao Jiaozhou Bay tunnel

Qingdao Jiaozhou Bay Tunnel is an under-sea road tunnel located in Shandong Province in eastern China. It crosses underneath Jiaozhou Bay, connecting Huangdao to the south with the city of Qingdao in the north (see map) at the narrow entrance to the bay.[3][4] It starts at Tuandao Road in the north and ends between Beizhuang village and Houchawan village on Xuejia Island in the south.[2]

Qingdao Jiaozhou Bay Tunnel

Map of the Jiaozhou Bay Connection Project
Overview
Location	Jiaozhou Bay
Coordinates	36.029388°N 120.283270°E / 36.029388; 120.283270
Start	Huangdao District
End	Qingdao
Operation
Work begun	December 27, 2006
Opened	July 1, 2011
Traffic	automotive
Toll	CN¥ 30 (passenger car)[1]
Technical
Length	5.55 km (3.45 mi) underground[2]
No. of lanes	6
Operating speed	80 km/h (50 mph)[2]
Lowest elevation	−70.5 m (−231 ft)[2]

Construction began on December 27, 2006[5] and was completed five years later when it opened on July 1, 2011, two months after the scheduled opening date. It opened the same day as the nearby Jiaozhou Bay Bridge, considered at the time the world's longest open water bridge by Guinness World Records.[6][7] The bridge and tunnel were planned together as the Jiaozhou Bay Connection Project.[8]

The contiguous length of the tunnel road is about 7.8 km (4.8 mi), part of which is underground and part under the sea.[9] The sub-sea portion is 3.95 km (2.45 mi).[9] The deepest point of the crown of the tube to sea level is 74 meters.[9] The deepest water depth is 42 meters.[9] There are two tubes of three lanes each for a total of six lanes.[9]