New highway under construction between Beijing and Winter Olympics ski venue

Beijing has revved up the construction of a highway linking the capital to Chongli in north China's Hebei province, which will serve as a ski event venue for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

The municipal transport administration commission confirmed on Tuesday that a 42-km highway starting from the city's northwestern Sixth Ring Road to the outlying district of Yanqing will be open to traffic by the end of this year.

It is expected to be extended another 116 km to Chongli by the end of 2019.

The highway, which will run through the mountains in northern Beijing to the ski resort of Chongli, will be an important part of Beijing's Olympic Games infrastructure.

Beijing won the bid to host the games in 2015. Beijing's urban center will host indoor events such as ice hockey and figure skating, largely in venues built for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. Ski events will be held at facilities in Chongli as well as Beijing's rural Yanqing district.

In addition to the two-way, four-lane highway, Beijing is also building a high-speed rail line to connect the city center with the outdoor game venues.