Shanghai Daily news

Chongming County has a great opportunity to develop after the long-awaited Shanghai-Yangtze River Tunnel and Bridge Project broke ground at the end of last year.
The so-called Shanghai-Chongming Expressway is the biggest link of its kind in the world. The infrastructure project covers a total distance of 25.5 kilometers and will connect Pudong with Chongming Island, the country's third-biggest island.
Two 8.9-kilometer-long tunnels will be built to connect Wuhaogou in Pudong with Changxing Island and a 10.3-kilometer cable-stayed bridge will be constructed to link Changxing to Chenjiazhen Town on Chongming.
Each of the tunnels, with an inner diameter of 13.7 meters and outer diameter of 15 meters, offers three one-way lanes designed for speeds of up to 80 kilometers per hour.
The cable-stayed bridge, with a main span of 730 meters, will meet two-way navigation requirements required for 30,000-ton standard container vessels and 50,000-ton cargo ships. The bridge will have six lanes, designed for speeds of up to 100 kilometers per hour.
A 6.3-kilometer elevated highway will also be built on Changxing Island to link the tunnel with the bridge.
The massive link will involve a total investment of 12.3 billion yuan (US$1.48 billion) and is expected to be completed in five years.
The development of Chongming has long been hindered by geographical restrictions.The only way to get to the island, at the moment, is by ferry, which takes at least two hours.
The island - covering an area of 1,225 square kilometers - has lagged significantly behind the rest of the city.
However, Chongming's economy is expected to receive a significant boost once this bottle-neck is broken, according to county officials. Hengsha Island and Changxing Island will also be developed.
Once the entire project is completed, travel time will be reduced to 30 minutes.
The project will also be an important section of the expressway link from Shanghai to Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, and is a crucial part in the country's infrastructure plans.
Strategically located at the intersection of the coastal economic zone and the Yangtze River Delta region, Chongming is also expected to serve as a "springboard," creating even closer ties between Shanghai and the Yangtze Delta region.
The island will build a northbound expressway to a planned bridge that will link it to Qidong, Jiangsu Province.
The planned bridge will also be connected with the Jiangsu expressway, leading to Nantong and Nanjing in Jiangsu.
Property developers are already excited about the island's promising future, but county officials said they will adopt a cautious approach, hoping to attract the upper echelons of mainland society.
Sun Lei, the county director, said that transport was the main problem on the island, but protecting the environment would also put certain limits on the sort of projects they accept. The ecologically protected island will rely mainly on environment-friendly industries.
While the link is built, much effort will be spent to preserve Chongming's natural marshlands and migratory birds.