The capital city's first belt expressway - the Fifth Ring Road - will be opened to traffic next week, reports Beijing Youth Daily.

Construction of the last segment of the project, from Jingyuan Road to the Jingjintang Expressway, will be completed on Saturday, according to the report.

The 38-kilometre expressway features four to six lanes of two-way traffic, a continuous parking area and a speed limit of 100 kilometres per hour. It is believed that completion of the Fifth Ring Road will greatly alleviate Beijing's traffic congestion problems.

Despite public calls for a free expressway, the charge for driving on the road will be 0.5 yuan (6 US cents) per kilometre in line with standard fees

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