THE long-talked-about tunnel-and-bridge project across the Yangtze River, the largest of its kind in the world, eventually broke ground on Chongming Island on December 28, marking a milestone in the development of the island.

The project, whose planning began in the early 1990s, with its feasibility report approved by the State Council in July last year, will take five years to complete.

The project, with a total investment of 12.3 billion yuan (US$1.48 billion), will also be an important section of the road from Shanghai to Xi’an of Northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, and thus is a crucial part of the country’s plan for major road construction.

With a total length of 25.5 kilometres, the project starts from Wuhaogou in Pudong, extending through two 8.9-kilometre-long tunnels to Changxing Island and then stretching as a 10.3-kilometre-long bridge to its end at Chenjia Town in the east of the island.

Each of the tunnels, with inner diameter of 13.7 metres and outer diameter of 15 metres ?will be the world’s largest of their kind, offering three one-way traffic lanes designed for speeds of 80 kilometres per hour.

The cable-supported bridge, with a main span of 730 metres in length, will be able to meet the two-way navigation requirements required for 30,000-ton standard container vessels and 50,000-ton cargo ships. The bridge will offer six traffic lanes, designed for speeds of 100 kilometres per hour.

After completion, the bridge will be the first one ships meet on their trip up the Yangtze River.

“The final plan was decided in accordance with the actual situation at the estuary of the river and our biggest goal was not only to achieve high quality but also environmental friendliness,?said Huang Rong, the on-site manager, according to the local Xinmin Evening news.

Huang is now the head manager of the construction project for the East China Bridge, connecting Luchaogang to Yangshan Deep-Water Port.

Huang explained that as Changxing Island and Hengsha Island are situated between Pudong and Chongming Island, the river is separated into two channels. Digging the tunnels below the southern channel ?highly favourable for shipping due to its natural deep water ?will be very difficult, but the construction will not affect water traffic.

Huang said the plan was based on a consensus reached by domestic and foreign experts who intensely discussed the matter prior to the international bidding for construction contracts.

The building of Chenjia Town into an ecological and economic centre on the island is one of the city’s most important urbanization ventures. It has been designed to achieve sustainable and harmonious development and was officially initiated at the same time as the river-crossing project.

The island will also build a northward expressway, reaching the spot where a planned bridge is to span the sea, linking Qidong of Jiangsu Province.

The planned bridge will be connected with the Jiangsu expressway, leading to Nantong and Nanjing of Jiangsu Province.

Huang said the city has been very methodical about the project, including it from the very beginning in the country’s road construction plan.

Municipal Party Secretary Chen Liangyu, Mayor Han Zheng and the Minister of Communications Zhang Chunxian attended the ceremony, describing the project as a fulfillment of President Hu Jintao’s instruction to develop the island and urging the construction efforts to be accomplished with attention to high quality.