• Issuing authority： State Council
• Document Number： Order No. 593 of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China
• Date issued： 03-07-2011
• Effective date：07-01-2011
• Level of Authority： Administrative Regulations
• Area of law：Traffic and Transport

Order of the State Council of the People's Republic of China (No.593) The Regulation on Protecting Highway Safety as adopted at the 144th executive meeting of the State Council on February 16, 2011, is hereby issued and shall come into force on July 1, 2011. Premier: Wen Jiabao March 7, 2011

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 To strengthen highway protection and ensure good conditions of highways and safe and smooth highway transport, this Regulation is formulated in accordance with the Highway Law of the People's Republic of China. 　　
Article 2 The people's governments at all levels shall strengthen leadership to highway protection and perform their highway protection functions according to law. 　
Article 3 The transport administrative department of the State Council shall be in charge of highway protection across the country. The transport administrative department of a local people's government at or above the county level shall be in charge of highway protection in its administrative region; but its functions of protecting national highways and provincial highways shall be determined by the people's government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government. A highway administrative organ shall be responsible for the supervision and administration of highway protection under this Regulation. 　　
Article 4 The departments of development and reform, industry and information technology, public security, industry and commerce, quality supervision, inspection and quarantine, etc. of the people's government at or above the county level shall legally carry out the relevant work on highway protection according to their respective functions. 　　
Article 5 The people's government at or above the county level shall include in its financial budget the funds needed by it and the relevant departments thereof for highway administration and maintenance and the funds needed by highway administrative organs for performing their highway administrative functions, excluding the funds for the protection of exclusive highways. 　　
Article 6 The transport administrative department of the people's government at or above the county level shall give full consideration to the relevant technical standards of the state on vehicles, service conditions of highways and other factors, gradually enhance the level of highway construction, management and maintenance, and endeavor to satisfy the national economic and social development needs and people's production and living needs. 　
Article 7 The transport administrative department of the people's government at or above the county level shall, in accordance with the provisions of the Emergency Response Law of the People's Republic of China, prepare emergency response plans for the emergencies destroying highways, including earthquakes, debris flows, freezing rain, snow and ice disaster, etc. (hereinafter referred to as “highway emergencies”), and report them to the people's government at the same level for approval and implementation. A highway administrative organ or an enterprise engaging in highway operations shall establish an emergency response team and periodically organize drilling according to the highway emergency response plan made by the transport administrative department. 　
Article 8 The state shall establish a sound material reserve security system for highway emergencies and improve the system of reserving, allocating and distributing emergency response materials, so as to satisfy the requirements for emergency response to highway emergencies. 　
Article 9 No entity or individual may destroy, damage or illegally occupy or use any highway, land used for a highway or ancillary facility of a highway. 　

Chapter II Highways

Article 10 A highway administrative organ shall create sound files on highway management, and investigate, verify and register highways, land used for highways and ancillary facilities of highways. 　　
Article 11 The local people's government at or above the county level shall, as required by highway development, organize the departments of transport, land and resources, etc. to delimit highway construction control areas under the principles of ensuring highway transport safety and saving the land to be used. A highway construction control area shall cover any of the following from the outer edge of the land used for a highway: 　　
1. Not less than 20 meters for a national highway;
2. Not less than 15 meters for a provincial highway;
3. Not less than 10 meters for a county highway; or
4. Not less than 5 meters for a township highway. In the case of an expressway, the highway construction control area shall cover not less than 30 meters from the outer edge of the land used for the highway. The scope of the construction control area of inner side of a curve of highway, interchange or grade crossing shall be determined according to the requirements for safe sight distance, etc.
Article 12 The construction control area of a newly built or rebuilt highway shall be delimited and announced by the local people's government at or above the county level along the highway under this Regulation within 30 days after the approval of the preliminary highway design. Where a highway construction control area overlaps a railway line safety protection area, navigation channel protection area, river administrative area or water project management and protection area, it shall be delimited after the highway administrative organ has consulted with the railway administrative organ, the navigation channel administrative organ, the water administrative department or the river basin administrative department. 　　
Article 13 Except as required by highway protection, no building or ground structure may be constructed within a highway construction control area; and legally constructed ones before the delimitation of the highway construction control area shall not be expanded, and compensation shall be legally made to those that shall be demolished for the purpose of highway construction, ensuring highway transport safety, etc.No building, ground structure or any other facility built outside a highway construction control area shall block any highway sign, or impede the safe sight distance. 　
Article 14 The distance between a new village or town, development zone, school, cargo distribution center, large-scale commercial outlet, farmers' market or any other public place and the outer edge of a highway construction control area shall meet the following standards, and such place shall be built in one side of the highway as far as possible: 　
1. Not less than 50 meters for a national or provincial highway; or
2. Not less than 20 meters for a county or township highway.
Article 15 Where a newly built or rebuilt highway crosses an existing urban road, railway, telecommunication line or any other line, or a newly built or rebuilt urban road, railway, telecommunication line or any other line crosses an existing highway, the expenses for construction shall be borne by the entity undertaking the building or rebuilding project; and the expenses increased upon the request of the administrative department or entity of urban roads, railways, telecommunication lines and other lines or the highway administrative organ for improving the existing construction standards shall be assumed by the department or entity or organ which makes such request. Where the way of intersection of an existing highway with an urban road, railway, telecommunication line or any other line needs to be changed, the expenses for construction shall be assumed under the principle of fairness and reasonableness. 　
Article 16 No highway shall be used as a testing ground for tests of braking of vehicles. No one may put up stands or stalls, store articles, dump waste, set up barriers, dig ditches to divert water, thresh grain, grow plants, raise livestock, quarry, dig earth, conduct mining-out operations, burn articles, or use highway side ditches to discharge wastes on a highway or land used for a highway or carry out any other activities that would result in damages or pollution to the highway or affect highway transport. 　　
Article 17 No mining, quarrying, earth digging, explosive operations or other activities that would endanger the safety of a highway, highway bridge, highway tunnel or highway ferry are allowed within any of the following scopes: 　　
1. Within a distance of 100 meters from the outer edge of land for a national, provincial or county highway, or 50 meters from the outer edge of land for a township highway;
2. Within a perimeter of 200 meters of a highway ferry or a highway bridge of the medium size or above; or
3. Within 100 meters above a highway tunnel or outside the mouth of a highway tunnel. Building of dams, or narrowing or widening of river beds for the purpose of rescue operations or flood prevention within the scope mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be subject to the approval of the transport administrative department of the people's government of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government jointly with the water administrative department or the river basin administrative department, and after safety protection measures are carried out.
Article 18 No one may establish any premise or facility for producing, storing or selling inflammable, explosive, highly toxic or radioactive articles or other dangerous articles within any of the following scopes, except for the premises and facilities established according to the relevant provisions of the state for replenishing vehicles with fuels: 　
1. Within 100 meters from the outer edge of land used for a highway;
2. Within a perimeter of 200 meters of a highway ferry or a highway bridge of the medium size or above; or
3. Within 100 meters above a highway tunnel or outside the mouth of a highway tunnel.
Article 19 No one may pump water from underground, erect a pontoon bridge or build any other facility that may endanger the safety of a highway bridge within 1,000 meters of the upriver and downriver of the river where a highway bridge of the medium size or above spans. Where it is necessary to pump water from underground, erect a pontoon bridge or carry out any other activity within the scope mentioned in the preceding paragraph, such activity shall be subject to the approval of the water administrative department, the river basin administrative department and other relevant departments jointly with the highway administrative organ, and after safety protection measures are carried out. 　　
Article 20 No one may quarry sand within any of the following scopes of the upriver and downriver of a river where a highway bridge spans: 　　
1. Within 500 meters of the upriver and 3,000 meters of the downriver of a river where an extra large highway bridge spans;
2. Within 500 meters of the upriver and 2,000 meters of the downriver of a river where a large highway bridge spans; or
3. Within 500 meters of the upriver and 1,000 meters of the downriver of a river where a medium or small-sized highway bridge spans.
Article 21 To legally conduct dredging operations within 500 meters of the upriver and downriver of a river where a highway bridge spans, such operations shall meet the requirements for the safety of highway bridges, and after they are confirmed to be safe by the highway administrative organ. 　
Article 22 No one may use a highway bridge to conduct towing, drawing, hoisting or any other operation which may endanger the safety of the bridge. No one may pile up articles by using a highway bridge (including the space under the bridge), highway tunnel or culvert, build any facility, or lay high voltage power lines or pipelines for transporting inflammable, explosive or other poisonous and toxic gases or liquids. 　
Article 23 Where a highway bridge spans a navigation channel, the construction entity shall set up navigation marks, column marks and water gauge marks according to the relevant provisions of the state, and set up navigation marks on water surfaces and devices for preventing collision to piers according to national and industrial standards. The navigation mark administrative organ shall be responsible for maintaining navigation marks on water surfaces. A vessel passing through a highway bridge shall comply with the navigable clearance height thereof and strictly follow navigation rules. No vessel may berth or moor under the highway bridge. 　　
Article 24 Important highway bridges and highway tunnels shall be guarded by the Chinese People's Armed Police Force according to the Law of the People's Republic of China on the People's Armed Police Force and the relevant provisions of the State Council and the Central Military Commission. 　
Article 25 No one may damage, or move, alter, or cover any ancillary facility of a highway without authorization or lay pipes or hang articles by using any ancillary facility of a highway. 　　
Article 26 Plants on highways or within the scope of land used for highways shall not be destroyed. Where regenerative felling of protective trees is required, one shall do so only after filing an application with and obtaining the approval of the highway administrative organ, and replant trees in a timely manner. Where it cannot replant trees in a timely manner, it shall pay the expenses needed for replanting, and the highway administrative organ shall replant trees on its behalf. 　
Article 27 To conduct any of the following highway-related construction activities, the construction entity shall file an application with the highway administrative organ: 　
1. Occupying or digging a highway or land used for a highway or change the route of a highway for the purpose of building a railway, airport, power plant, water conservancy project, telecommunications facility or conducting any other construction project;
2. Building a bridge or an aqueduct or erecting or laying pipelines, cables or other facilities across over, at or under a highway;
3. Erecting or laying pipelines, cables or other facilities within the scope of land used for a highway;
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