New Pudong Avenue, with six to eight lanes, opens fully on Monday between Pudong Road S. in the west and Tao’an Road in the east.

Wang Rongjiang / SHINE

New Pudong Avenue with six to eight lanes fully opens on Monday between Pudong Road S. in the west and Tao’an Road in the east.

Wang Rongjiang / SHINE

New Pudong Avenue with six to eight lanes fully opens on Monday between Pudong Road S. in the west and Tao’an Road in the east.

Wang Rongjiang / SHINE

New Pudong Avenue with six to eight lanes fully opens on Monday between Pudong Road S. in the west and Tao’an Road in the east.

Wang Rongjiang / SHINE

New Pudong Avenue with six to eight lanes fully opens on Monday between Pudong Road S. in the west and Tao’an Road in the east.

Wang Rongjiang / SHINE

China is hailed as an "infrastructure maniac" for its dazzling array of mega projects constructed at amazing speed.

"China's progress in advanced infrastructure is more than 100 times faster than the US," Tesla CEO Elon Musk commented in a tweet after he saw news that reported on how Chinese workers managed to upgrade a railway station within nine hours.

Meanwhile, in Shanghai, the construction of an 8-kilometer stretch of road has been continuing, off and on, for decades. On Monday, Pudong Avenue finally opened to traffic.

Along the Huangpu River, its section between Pudong Road S. in the west and Tao'an Road in the east is now open to two-way traffic as a six-to-eight-lane carriageway, allowing people to drive all the way from the Lujiazui financial hub to the Waigaoqiao free trade zone, according to the local construction and transportation commission.

In fact, Pudong Avenue truly fits its name. It has witnessed the development of the Pudong New Area over 31 years, with the Pudong development office set up at 141 Pudong Avenue.

Due to urban construction, it has been renovated over the course of many years. The latest round of construction, however, left it in dire straits, drawing a number of complaints about the unnecessarily slow pace.

However, there was a reason for this.

Pudong Avenue is the city's largest and most challenging comprehensive traffic project that involved the construction of tunnels, Metro lines, and underground passageways, with the deepest section dug up to 35.4 meters underground, nearly the height of a 12-story building.

The construction initially began near the end of 2007. But thereafter, from time to time, the project was paused to make room for massive underground work.

The work included a rapid transit system formed by the Yan'an Elevated Road and passageways underneath the avenue. It also involved Metro lines 14, 18 and 19, as well as the Jiangpu Road Tunnel.

Construction of carriageways above the site itself took up nearly four years, according to the commission.

Veteran photographer Yao Jianliang grew up along the avenue, and he never stopped focusing his lens on the area.

"It has been broadened and repaired several times since 1993, and in 2007 the most complicated round of renovations began. I started recording moments and milestones since preparations began in 2005," he told Shanghai Daily.

Yao added: "Over the past 16 years, I've been to the area on foot or by bike. It's really a tough journey, as every time I traveled nearly 16 kilometers to get there. So I really understood why people complained of humming bulldozers and bumpy roads. But I also found that it was really a difficult construction project."

A 60-year-old man surnamed Xin, who lives in a residential complex near the intersection of Pudong Avenue and Yuanshen Road, was also excited about the opening of the busy street down his building. However, during the first few years of the construction, he was not very supportive.

"I had a shop on the street, and since the traffic was entirely blocked, I kept losing customers because there was no parking space for them, until I finally closed the business," Xin told Shanghai Daily.

"My neighbors and I had filed several complaints with the government about the project."

Following their complaints, Xin and other residents were approached by the company in charge of the project and informed about its progress and significance. That was when they started to be more considerate about it.

"My personal interest may have been sacrificed for a period of time, but I came to understand that the project would benefit more people in the long run, including me myself and my family," he explained.

Being able to drive on the avenue again, Xin revealed that a lot of detours have been cut off and the travelling time back home has also been greatly reduced. In addition, the Yuanshen Road Station on Metro Line 14 nearby will open soon.

Xin also said that he can't wait to have the sweet scent of osmanthus next autumn by just opening his windows as he heard trees of the fragrant flower have been planted along the road.

The reopened Pudong Avenue is expected to relieve traffic pressure on nearby thoroughfares such as Century Avenue, Zhangyang Road and Yanggao Road M.

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Project company staff work on the installation of road facilities and the maintenance of greenery along Pudong Avenue.

Wang Rongjiang / SHINE

Workers are working on the installation of road facilities and the maintenance of greeneries along Pudong Avenue.

Wang Rongjiang / SHINE

Workers are working on the installation of road facilities and the maintenance of greeneries along Pudong Avenue.

Wang Rongjiang / SHINE

Workers are working on the installation of road facilities and the maintenance of greeneries along Pudong Avenue.

Wang Rongjiang / SHINE

Workers put final touches to a Metro Line 14 station along Pudong Avenue. The line is expected to open very soon.

Wang Rongjiang / SHINE