Shanghai will build a 52-kilometer expressway linking Chongming Island and Jiangsu Province, including a seven-kilometer bridge across the Yangtze River.

The six-lane expressway, including a 31-kilometer local section, is the final phase of the Shanghai-Chongming-Jiangsu Connection Project.

The southern end of the expressway will link up with the bridge-and-tunnel connection being built between the Pudong New Area and Chongming Island via Changxing Island.

The expressway will include a bridge to link the island with Qidong, a small city on the Jiangsu coast.

When completed by around 2010, the travel time from Shanghai to the northern Jiangsu cities, such as Nantong, will be reduced from more than two hours to less than one.

Chongming Island, China's third largest, sits in the center of the mouth of the Yangtze River, which separates Shanghai and northern Jiangsu Province.

The city government has plans to develop the island into an ecology-based resort and residential area over the next few years.

In addition to the roads, a new Metro line is also planned to link the island with the mainland.

A group of transport engineers is carrying out detailed studies for the project.

(Source: www.made-in-china.com )