Work on major underpass is underway
Workers install the last piece of the blade for a rectangle pipe-jacking machine.
Excavation work on a major underpass project in north downtown to relieve traffic congestion at the Wujiaochang subcenter started on Tuesday.
The double-layer Sanmen Road Underpass in Yangpu District will connect the Songhu and Zhayin roads, a traffic bottleneck in the area, upon completion in 2020.
The Y-shaped tunnel is composed of a 860-meter main section along the Songhu Road and a 770-meter section connecting the Zhayin Road.
It will lie beneath the intersection of the three busy roads, which is currently one of the most congested spots in the north downtown.
The underpass will benefit residents living in the Xinjiangwan residential community in the north and shoppers in the Wujiaochang commercial hub to the south, according to the Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co Road and Bridge Group, the city’s major road and bridge constructor.
The last piece of the blade is lifted into the construction site.
A huge rectangular pipe-jacking machine, some 9.8 meters wide and 6.3 meters long, started operation on Tuesday morning.
The machine, the largest of its kind used in the city's construction, means there is minimum excavation work, resulting in less disruption for traffic.
The underpass is only 1.5 meters away from the Metro Line 10, so the digging requires precision and experience, said Han Jianyong, the project manager.
The group has completed another major excavation project in Xuhui District with a more complicated method digging a tunnel beneath the city's Middle Ring Road.
To reduce the impact to the already congested traffic during the construction, the group has created a makeshift vehicle lane on Songhu and Zhayin roads.
The improved jacking machine will occupy 20 percent less space.
An artist's impression of the Sanmen Road Underpass in Yangpu District which is expected to relieve traffic congestion at the Wujiaochang subcenter
