Shanghai Daily news

Can you imagine reaching Jinshan District, near the East China Sea, from the city center in 30 minutes?
This is the scenario outlined in the transportation plan for Jinshan District for 2005.
"The major barrier for the development of Jinshan District is the traffic," said Shi Degen, director of the district's Construction and Management Commission.
He said five years ago, people in the district seemed to be alienated from the central city. "It usually took a person two and a half hours to come to downtown Shanghai," Shi said. "So, it was common for a Jinshan local to go to the central downtown only once a year."
However, the district government has taken great pains to solve the traffic problems in the past five years with an enormous investment in infrastructure facilities. So far, the district government has invested some 2 billion yuan (US$241 million) in building roadways.
By the end of next year, the district aims to build main roads with a combined length of some 240 kilometers.
Jinshan, once a landlocked area, is now a promising place with an advanced traffic network.
With the construction of an integrated traffic network composed of broadened roads, newly built main roads, expressways, railways and seaports, it will make commuting between the downtown city and Jinshan District as easy as traveling among the districts in the central part of the city.
Shanghai aims to have a network of 12 expressways with a total of 650 kilometers by the end of next year. At the time, Jinshan District will have 98 kilometers of expressways, accounting for 15 percent of the city's total.
Based on the requirements set forth for the expressway network, the district is speeding up construction on Jinshan sections of the A5, A6 and A7 expressways.
The A5 expressway, which links the city's northwest Jiading District and Jinshan District in the south, is a milestone in Shanghai road construction history. It will be the longest of its kind and also involve the biggest investment.
"When the construction is complete, the district's key industrial zones, market towns and transportation hubs will be within 10 minutes of the expressway network," Shi said.
He added the expressway network connecting Zhejiang Province will contribute to a solid foundation for the district to forge even closer cooperative ties with Yangtze River Delta region.
"The quality of traffic infrastructure was one important aspect considered when making investment," Shi said. "Jinshan is now attracting increasing attention from investors in various industries from both home and abroad."