On April 9, the new construction projects of the Caobao Road Expressway and the Anyuan Road Suzhou Creek Bridge officially broke ground. It is reported that there are a total of 50 major municipal transportation projects in 2021; according to project progress, 6 are planned to start construction this year, 7 to be completed, and 37 to be advanced.

New Caobao Road Expressway

Serving the new urban spatial pattern

The Caobao Road Expressway starts from Jiamin Elevated Road in the west and ends at Guiping Road in the east, passing through Jiuting Town in Songjiang District, Qibao Town, Meilong Town and Gumei Subdistrict in Minhang District, and Hongmei Road Subdistrict and Kangjian Xincun Subdistrict in Xuhui District, with a total length of about 7.2 km.

According to reports, the project adopts a combined form of "tunnel + elevated road." The main construction content includes a new two-way six-lane expressway mainline and the reconstruction of the Caobao Road surface road system, as well as three hub interchanges at Jiamin Elevated Road, the S20 Outer Ring Expressway and the Middle Ring Road.

The Caobao Road Expressway is a rapid distribution route serving the Hongqiao Business District and also an important rapid transport link between Songjiang New City and the central urban area. The construction of this corridor is of great significance for improving the municipal trunk road network, enhancing the traffic environment in surrounding areas, and serving surrounding economic development, and will support the sustainable development of the Hongqiao International Open Hub.

Another pedestrian bridge added over the Suzhou Creek

Improving the "One River, One Creek" slow-traffic space network

The new construction project of the Anyuan Road Suzhou Creek Bridge spans Jing'an and Putuo Districts. The project starts at the intersection of Anyuan Road and West Suzhou Road in the west, crosses the Suzhou Creek eastward, and connects to the intersection of Chang'an West Road and Guangfu Road, following a C-shaped alignment, with a total bridge length of 252 meters.

Rendering of the Anyuan Road Suzhou Creek Bridge   According to reports, the bridge is a pedestrian bridge that also accommodates non-motorized vehicle pushing. The project will build a new C-shaped main bridge over the Suzhou Creek, ramps and stairways, as well as road restoration for West Suzhou Road and Guangfu Road within the project scope. The main bridge adopts a three-span steel truss continuous girder structure plus auxiliary double-tower cables, achieving a single span across the river with no piers in the water, and is planned to be completed and opened to traffic in September 2022.   The Anyuan Road Suzhou Creek Bridge plays an important role in achieving the waterfront connectivity of the central urban section of the Suzhou Creek and the goal of a networked "One River, One Creek" slow-traffic space. After completion, the bridge will further improve pedestrian and non-motorized vehicle passage conditions in the area, further improve the layout of bridges across the Suzhou Creek in the area, and further promote land development in surrounding areas and drive urban economic development.

Rendering of the Anyuan Road Suzhou Creek Bridge

50 major municipal transportation projects to be advanced this year

There are a total of 50 major municipal transportation projects in 2021; according to project progress, 6 are planned to start construction this year, 7 to be completed, and 37 to be advanced.

In the first quarter, the Municipal Transportation Commission steadily advanced external transportation projects to support integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta. For example, Phase II of the CSSC Changxing Shipbuilding Base started construction on January 4; the Fuxing Road provincial-boundary dead-end road opened to traffic in February; and Shengli Road and Zhulv Highway are ready for traffic. Steady progress was made in starting rail transit projects. The airport link line project is progressing in an orderly manner; the shield machine assembly for the Meifu Road shaft-Huajing Station section has been completed; and construction of the large and small shield conversion shafts on Changxing Island for the Chongming Line of rail transit has begun. Municipal transportation projects are being advanced in an orderly manner. For example, the Yanggao Road reconstruction project started construction on January 4; the elevated section of the Jiyang Road Expressway and the Luheng Road node of Puxing Highway opened to traffic on February 6; and the traffic switchover at the Zhongshan North Road intersection of the Wuning Road expressway project has been completed.

In the second quarter, the Municipal Transportation Commission will continue to advance project construction. This includes advancing preliminary work for municipal lines such as the Jiamin Line and the westward extension of Rail Transit Line 2, as well as rail transit projects, with the aim of starting construction in the second quarter. At the same time, a batch of projects will be completed. Four projects will be completed: the western section of the North Hengtong Corridor (North Hong Road Interchange-Wen'an Road ground connection), the S7 Highway (Yueluo Highway-Baoqian Highway), the Maogang Bridge on Yexin Highway of the Pingshen Line waterway, and the ground road at the Luheng Road node of Puxing Highway. Two district-to-district connecting roads, including Luxiang Road, are ready for traffic. In addition, construction of ongoing projects will be advanced in an orderly manner. Construction of Rail Transit Line 14 and Phase I of Line 18 will be advanced in an orderly manner. Projects such as the Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou Railway, Pudong Airport Phase III, the S3 Highway, the eastern section of the North Hengtong Corridor, the Yindu Road river crossing and the Longshui South Road river crossing will be advanced in an orderly manner.