Shanghai’s only curved major road ramp, a big tourist attraction
which provides a close-up view of the Bund and its opposite
skyscrapers in Pudong, will disappear in three months, a project
official said yesterday.
The ramp, which has been at the eastern end of the Yan'an Elevated
Road for just over 10 years, is hailed as the "No.1 Curve in Asia"
by many locals because of its prime location with a view that
highlights both sides of the city.
Before month's end, it will start to be pulled down to give way
for a huge vehicle tunnel below the Bund to ease traffic
congestion.
A lower version of the ramp will eventually link the elevated
road and the tunnel, or "Bund Passage". The tunnel is scheduled for
completion by March of 2010.
"Related elevated traffic will be controlled during the
construction period," Qin Kangde, an official of the Bund Passage
Project, said yesterday.
He said preparation work for the demolishment of the ramp has
already started and major construction will kick off within this
month.
So far, the exit of the elevated road near the Bund towards the
Nanpu Bridge has been closed. By the end of this month, the curved
ramp will be closed completely, Qin said.
During construction, part of the Yan'an Elevated Road near the
Bund area will be banned for traffic for two years, while the
entrances and exits near the Xizang Road and the Fujian Road remain
operational.
Traffic around the Bund area will be more congested during
construction but the end result will make the wait worthwhile,
officials said.
Running for 3.3 kilometers, the tunnel will become a key
underground artery between the Hongkou and the central Huangpu
districts.
In addition to the highway ramp, the Wusong Road Floodgate
Bridge will also be dismantled and the century-old Waibaidu Bridge
will be relocated for a year to make way for the all-important
tunnel.
The previous major reconstruction of the infrastructure around
the Bund area was conducted in 1992.
In recent years, Shanghai has been involved in extensive
infrastructure development. Due to inconsistencies in urban
planning, the government has had to eliminate or rebuild some
existing facilities.
For example, two years ago the government began a reconstruction
program near the crossroads of Zhongshan Road N1 and Zhenping Road
in Putuo District. The aim is to rebuild the pillars of a section
of the Inner Ring Road to allow a tunnel for the Metro Line 7. This
project is ongoing and its completion date is not clear.
(Shanghai Daily February 14, 2008)
