in at the end of December 2003 and decreed that the road be made free on the first day of 2004. (At the same time, all charges for expressway exits within the confines of the 5th Ring Road were also done away with.) When the tolls were removed, usage of the 5th Ring Road gradually increased. The ring road previously managed with only 10% of its total designed capacity. The expressway ring road, even without the charges, remains uncrowded today, except for any occurrence of a serious accident. The sole remaining toll is located at Shangqing Bridge. Traffic jams The section from Wufang Bridge to Shangqing Bridge in both directions has a moderate to high risk of traffic jams due to its proximity to important residential districts and tourist destinations, such as Wangjing, Beiyuan, and Yayuncun. This section has, unusually, a much higher risk for congestion than the 4th Ring Road (both directions) during rush hour, despite the section past the Wuyuan Bridge (inner ring direction) having a speed limit of 100 km/h and the expressway being more distant from the city centre. Bridges on the 5th Ring Road Note: ↑ denotes an overpass, ↓ an underpass, and ⇆ an interchange bridge with exit. Northern 5th Ring Road ↑ Gongdesi Bridge ↑ Hongshan Bridge ⇆ Xiaojiayuan Bridge ⇆ Xianghongqi Bridge ↓ Jianting Bridge ↓ Shangqing West Bridge ⇆ Shangqing Bridge ↑ Lincui Bridge ↓ Tianchen Bridge ⇆ Yangshan Bridge ↓ Beiyuan Bridge ↓ Gujiazhuang Bridge ⇆ Laiguangying Bridge ⇆ Guangshun Bridge ↓ Guangze Bridge ↑ Wuyuan North Bridge / Beixiaohe Bridge Eastern 5th Ring Road ⇆ Wuyuan Bridge ↓ Huantie North Bridge ↑ Huantie Bridge ⇆ Qikeshu Bridge ⇆ Pingfang Bridge ↓ Baijialou Bridge ↑ Dahuangzhuang Bridge ⇆ Yuantong Bridge ⇆ Wufang Bridge ⇆ Huagong Bridge ↑ Xizhihe Bridge ⇆ Dayangfang North Bridge ⇆ Dayangfang Bridge Southern 5th Ring Road ⇆ Ronghua Bridge ⇆ Yizhuang Bridge ↑ Jiuzong Bridge ↑ Demao Bridge ↑ Yinluchi Bridge ↓ Tuanhe Bridge ↑ Jingxian Bridge ↑ Jinxi Bridge ↑ Tonghua Bridge ⇆ Xihongmen South Bridge ⇆ Xinhua Bridge ↓ Liying Bridge ⇆ Langfa East Bridge ↑ Langfa West Bridge Western 5th Ring Road ⇆ Wanping Bridge ↑ Shifeng Bridge ↓ Yamenkou Bridge ↑ Lugu Bridge ⇆ Bajiao Bridge ⇆ Jinyuan Bridge ↓ Gengcun Bridge ↓ Xihuangcun Bridge ⇆ Xingshikou Bridge ⇆ Minxi Bridge ⇆ Xiangquan Bridge List of exits Symbols: ↗ = exit (✕