Why is there a speed limit on the Toksun Gangu section?
4 Answers
In order to effectively improve road traffic safety management, strive to create a safe, orderly, and smooth road traffic environment, reduce road violations, and curb road traffic accidents. Here are the relevant details: 1. Announcement: From Kumishi Town to the Gangu section of Toksun County: G3012 line 112Km to 56Km, with a section length of 56 kilometers. The speed limit for small vehicles is 60Km/h, with a minimum passing time of 56 minutes, and for large vehicles, it's 40Km/h, with a minimum passing time of 84 minutes. Within the 56-kilometer section, there are 6 sub-sections with simultaneous section speed monitoring, and 6 radar fixed-point speed monitoring points. 2. Provincial Highway 301: S301 line 39Km to 98Km, with a section length of 59 kilometers, speed limit 80Km/h, minimum passing time 44 minutes and 15 seconds. Within the 59-kilometer section, there are 4 sub-sections with simultaneous section speed monitoring.
Just drove through Toksun Gangu a couple of days ago, and the road conditions there really made me sweat. Not only is there a continuous downhill stretch of over ten kilometers, but there are also hairpin turns one after another, with mountain walls rising sheer like knife cuts. Last summer, heavy rains triggered a landslide, and rubble buried half the lane. When I took a turn at 60 km/h, I clearly felt the tires losing grip. This stretch is even more treacherous in winter, with black ice lingering all day in shaded areas at minus ten degrees. Officer Wang from the traffic police told me they handle a rear-end collision in the curves on average every two days, all caused by speeding. Last month, a heavy truck's overheated brakes caught fire, leaving a large blackened patch on the mountain wall. Now, there's section speed control plus mobile speed cameras throughout—driving fast here is literally playing with your life.
Our fleet often operates on the Xinjiang route, and the speed limit in the Toksun section is definitely not set arbitrarily. Last time I chatted with a road maintenance worker, he mentioned that the maximum gradient on this stretch is 8%, equivalent to an 8-meter drop over 100 meters. Continuous downhill slopes cause brake pad temperatures to easily exceed 400°C, and last year's tests showed the hottest brake discs could even light a cigarette. Driving at night is even scarier—headlights reveal nothing but thick fog mixed with sandstorms, reducing visibility to less than 30 meters. Brother Zhang from the transport company said their tire pressure monitoring systems show that speeding vehicles experience a 40% surge in load on one side during turns. Beneath the speed limit signs, rumble strips are embedded; driving over 50 km/h feels like hitting speed bumps with loud thuds.
Having been a self-driving tour leader for five years, I've guided 73 groups of guests along the Duku Highway. On the Toksun section, side mirrors almost scraped during oncoming traffic at curves, with the narrowest points requiring buses to fold in mirrors to pass each other. The mountain rockfall warning system was triggered 38 times last year, once with a boulder landing just five meters ahead of my car. Temperature fluctuations are bizarre too – 30°C in sunlight but plunging to 15°C in shaded bends. Local herders say canyon gusts can flip empty truck containers, and I've witnessed wind blowing away traffic barriers. Road seepage often forms thin ice, especially dangerous at dawn/dusk. These field-tested realities are why the speed limit's strictly 40 km/h.
