Nanjing tunnel joined

2009-8-23  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

WORKERS completed the connection of a six-lane traffic tunnel under the Yangtze River in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province yesterday so that it now spans both banks of the river.

It is the third traffic tunnel built under the Yangtze, China's longest river.

The 3.3-billion-yuan (US$483 million), 6,042-meter-long tunnel is expected to open in June next year.

Cars will be able to travel at up to 80 kilometers an hour in the tunnel and traffic flow will be double the capacity of the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge.

The tunnel will help ease traffic across the Nanjing section of the river which flows through the booming Yangtze River Delta.

Another tunnel in Shanghai was built last September and is expected to be ready for traffic at the end of the year in time for 2010 World Expo.

A four-lane tunnel has been open for traffic in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, since December last year.

There are more than 100 bridges across the 6,300-kilometer Yangtze River, which originates in northwest China's Qinghai Province and flows through 10 provinces and municipalities.