Shanghai started work yesterday morning on the Chongming-Qidong Expressway, an important part of a regional project that will shorten travel time between Shanghai and the eastern Jiangsu Province by nearly half.

When it's finished in 2012, the expressway will link Chongming Island with Qidong, a coastal city in Shanghai's neighboring Jiangsu Province, the Shanghai Construction and Transport Commission said.

"The expressway is the first cross-river project in Jiangsu Province that directly connects to Shanghai from north of the Yangtze River," said He Ping, of the province's transportation authority.

It marks the final phase of the Shanghai-Chongming-Jiangsu connection that will link downtown Shanghai, Chongming Island and Jiangsu Province with a series of bridges, tunnels and highways.

"The expressway will play a crucial role for Jiangsu, and even Shandong Province, to connect to Shanghai, especially to the Pudong International Airport, Yangshan Deep Water Port and Waigaoqiao Port in Pudong," said Dai Xiaojian, general manager of the Shanghai Yangtze River Tunnel-Bridge Construction and Development Co Ltd.

The six-lane Chongming-Qidong Expressway, spanning 51.2 kilometers, will merge into the Yangtze Tunnel-Bridge Project on Chongming Island, and stretch north to connect to the Nantong-Qidong Expressway, which will further extend to Nantong city in Jiangsu.

The Yangtze Tunnel-Bridge Project, which will open before the 2010 World Expo, will link Pudong New Area and Chongming Island via Changxing Island. The tunnel-bridge project, the world's longest such complex, extends 25.5 kilometers, with a tunnel running under the Yangtze River and a cable-stayed bridge over the water.

About 70 percent of the expressway, stretching 22.73 kilometers, will be built on Chongming Island, passing through ecologically sensitive forests and wetlands.

An 8.4-kilometer bridge will link Chongming and Qidong. When the new link opens, the drive from downtown Shanghai to Qidong is expected to take about one hour, as the distance will be cut to 80 kilometers, from the present 200. The trip takes now about 150 minutes.

"Qidong is a large place for development. It will benefit Shanghai's aim to transfer some of its industries to outside cities," Dai said.

Land prices and other costs in Qidong are reportedly lower than in other cities that are located within one hour of Shanghai.