Shanghai mulls building Beiheng Passage

THE city plans to alleviate traffic pressure in northern Shanghai with the Beiheng Passage.

Blueprints for the east-to-west thoroughfare have it stretching 19.4 kilometers and linking Changning, Jing'an, Putuo, Zhabei, Hongkou and Yangpu districts.

The plan calls for the thoroughfare to start at Beihong Road and extend to the downtown Zhoujiazui Road Tunnel, which will be built to ease traffic in Hongkou, Yangpu and the Pudong New Area while crossing under the Huangpu River, according to the draft.

The planned passage will include some tunnels and a speed limit of 60 kilometers per hour.

The tunnels to the west of Huangxing Road are expected to have a total of four lanes - two in each direction - while the Beiheng Passage at ground level will have an extra lane in each direction, according to the blueprint.

The project, if given a green light, will likely be welcomed by drivers who face traffic congestion on elevated roads.

Drivers are increasingly accustomed to slow moving traffic, especially on elevated roads, around the city as the number of cars has increased dramatically in the past decade.

The city had more than 1.4 million private cars by the end of last year and the number is expected to increase to 1.62 million this year, said Zuo Tianfu, deputy chief with Shanghai Traffic Police.

The Beiheng Passage is also expected to speed up the development of areas north of Suzhou Creek.

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