Baiyu Road Bridge, located in the middle section of Suzhou Creek and connecting Putuo and Changning Districts, is currently under accelerated construction. According to the project team, all pile foundations and pile caps within the Putuo District section have now been completed. As planned, the main bridge will be erected in July this year, the main bridge structure will be completed and connected in September, and the bridge will be finished and put into use within the year. This slow-traffic bridge, designed primarily for pedestrians while also accommodating non-motorized vehicle pushing, will effectively improve the long-standing shortage of cross-Suzhou Creek crossings in the Putuo Changfeng area and enhance the overall slow-traffic system of the "One River, One Creek" initiative.

For a long time, residents of the Putuo Changfeng area heading to the Zhongshan Park area in Changning have mostly had to detour via the Caoyang Road Bridge and Kaixuan Road Bridge, with one-way walking times often exceeding half an hour. The construction of Baiyu Road Bridge therefore carries the earnest hopes of residents on both banks. "The bridge will effectively fill the gap in existing river crossings, and once completed it is expected to handle about 30% of pedestrians' river-crossing demand along the banks," said Sun Wei, deputy commander of the Second On-site Command of the Third Business Division of Shanghai Highway Investment Group.

The main bridge of Baiyu Road Bridge is about 85 meters long, starting in the north at the intersection of Guangfu West Road and Baiyu Road, connecting to Baiyu Road Green Space, and ending in the south at the planned Er Road intersection of Wanhangdu Road; in the future it will lead directly to a new commercial project in Changning District. In terms of functionality, a pedestrian stairway and a non-motorized vehicle push ramp will be provided on each of the north and south banks; one barrier-free elevator is planned on each side of the main bridge to meet the access needs of all groups of people and further connect new lifestyle scenes on both banks of Suzhou Creek. "Of course it will be much more convenient once the bridge is built!" said Shao Yan, a resident of a nearby residential compound, who hopes the bridge will open soon. "Right now I have to take a detour to get to Longemont in Zhongshan Park; with the bridge going straight across in the future it will be much more convenient. I hope the construction progress speeds up." Another resident, Ye Xiaowei, specifically mentioned the barrier-free facilities the bridge will have: "It's very convenient for elderly people and for people like us pushing strollers with children! I heard there will be elevators, so no need to climb stairs."

In addition to thorough functional considerations, the bridge also features distinctive styling in its design. Su Weiyi, a project engineer at the command center, introduced that Baiyu Road Bridge incorporates Chinese-style design concepts: "The Putuo section ramp will form a circle, while the Changning section will lead directly to the new commercial project, with non-motorized vehicles entering the ground-level road via the ramp. Viewed from above, the overall shape resembles a jade ruyi scepter."

(Source: Shanghai Putuo)