New S7 highway extension to improve traffic in north Shanghai
The new 6.1-kilometer extension of the S7 Highway between the Yueluo and Baoqian highways.
A new expressway extension opened to the public in north Shanghai today to improve traffic in Baoshan and Jiading districts while optimizing the city's highway network.
The new 6.1-kilometer extension of the S7 Highway between the Yueluo and Baoqian highways will primarily serve residents in the historical towns of Luodian and Xuhang.
It will also relieve congestion on the busy south-north thoroughfare in north downtown, the Hutai Highway, according to the Shanghai Chengtou Highway Investment Group, the project's main builder.
The S7 Highway, stretching 49.9 kilometers, begins at the S20 Outer Ring Road and runs through Baoshan's Gucun and Luodian towns, as well as Xuhang and Huating towns in Jiading. Long-term planning has the expressway extending to Chongming District.
The initial section of the highway opened to traffic in October of 2019.
More than 95 percent of the extension's construction materials are prefabricated, reducing labor requirements by 90 percent.
The new extension includes an elevated highway and ground road. The elevated highway has six lanes with a speed limit of 100 kilometers per hour. The speed limit on the ground road is 60 kilometers per hour.
The extension is part of Shanghai's expressway network in the central and northern regions, and will support the economic and social development of Baoshan and Jiading, according to the investment group.
Innovative techniques were used, and many construction records were set, the group said.
The first foundation pile for the elevated highway was erected in April 2020, and the structure was completed only a year later. More than 5,400 concrete piles, 500 platforms, 500 supportive pillars and 740 bridge decks were assembled within a year, a new record during Shanghai's infrastructure building.
More than 95 percent of the construction materials were prefabricated, reducing labor requirements by 90 percent as well as safety risks, noise and air pollution.
The ground road is built under the elevated highway.
