Shanghai has started to construct another tunnel across the Huangpu River near the World Expo site, project officials said yesterday.

Expected to open by March 2010, the Longyao Road Tunnel, totaling 4 kilometers, will link the Longyao Road of Xuhui District in Puxi and the planned Weiliu Road in the Pudong New Area.

''The tunnel will greatly facilitate traffic around the Expo site in both Pudong and Puxi,'' Zhang Huaping, an official of publicity of the Shanghai Construction Group, said yesterday.

He said the Longyao Road Tunnel was a key part of the infrastructure projects related to the World Expo, which will be held from May 1 to October 30, 2010.

The Pudong entrance of the tunnel will be linked to Jiyang Road, an arterial road that connects to the 5.28-square-kilometer Expo site. It will also lessen traffic congestion around the Shanghai South Railway Station and the Longhua area in Puxi, according to city officials.

According to a preliminary plan, the main section of the tunnel will have four traffic lanes. Preparatory underground works for the tunnel in Pudong were completed over the weekend.

Shanghai has 11 connections between Pudong and Puxi. Several other tunnels are under construction including the Xizang Road Tunnel, a central artery of the Expo site.

(Shanghai Daily April 28, 2008)