143 kilometres in length, it crosses the jurisdictions of Beijing and Tianjin municipalities and Hebei province.

The Jingjintang Expressway runs through the municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin, as well as Hebei province.

With a history of over ten years, the expressway was beginning to feel the crunch of massive traffic, especially the increase of heavy lorries.

A variation of routes leaves Beijing heading toward Pinggu District, and links with the Jinji Expressway.

Incessant traffic jams, breakdowns, and chaos on the expressway earned it a more popular nickname—the "road of death".

Compounding the problem is a very narrow (2.4 m in width) hard shoulder, and the lack of emergency bays.

Private citizens could apply for driver's licences with greater ease, and traffic as a whole increased on PRC roads.

As it forms a vital corridor for traffic from Tianjin and Tanggu, the expressway is often full of lorries.

Two lorries overtaking each other would shrink average speed limits for the car following behind considerably—from the legal 110 km/h down to approximately 80 km/h or sometimes even 60 km/h.