After more than 20 years of repeated argumentation and precise planning, on January 2, 2025, a landmark moment in the history of Shanghai's urban transportation finally arrived - the construction of the North South Passage project, known as the "last stroke" of the "cross shaped" skeleton backbone road network in the central urban area, officially began at the intersection of Quyang South Road and Hongguan Road in Hongkou District. From a blueprint to the Siping Road working shaft where the shield machine is about to leave, this super project with an investment of more than 10 billion yuan will not only depict a new traffic artery connecting both sides of the Pujiang River deep underground, but also fundamentally reshape the spatial pattern and development momentum of the eastern part of Shanghai center's central urban area. This passage that connects history and the future carries a deep reflection on efficiency, resilience, and sustainable development for a mega city.

A super project of careful thinking and diligent action

The concept of the north-south passage can be traced back to 2004 when Shanghai planned the "cross shaped" passage in the CBD core area. Why did this crucial longitudinal artery only come to fruition today? The answer lies in its unprecedented complexity and strategic significance. As a major transportation project in Shanghai's "15th Five Year Plan" with an investment of over 10 billion yuan, its planning, route selection, and functional positioning have undergone extremely careful long-term verification. The project was officially established in the Shanghai Urban Master Plan (2017-2035), and in subsequent deepening, it continuously responded to the latest needs of urban renewal along the route, especially in Hongkou District, by dynamically optimizing the layout of local nodes and ramps. This long preparation period is a reflection of Shanghai's scientific and rigorous attitude to ensure that this century long project can accurately match the long-term development pulse of the city.

Reshaping the layout of core urban functions

From the map, the North South Passage is not a simple transportation route. It starts from Dabaishu Interchange in Central in the north and ends at Chengshan Road, Yanggao South Road in the south, with a total length of 14.55 kilometers. It runs through the east of Shanghai center urban area in the form of underground tunnels. This underground corridor is like a powerful 'tendon', connecting a series of urban core functional areas such as Hongkou Jiangwan, Wujiaochang, North Bund, Xiaolujiazui, World Expo, and Qiantan into a line. It forms a complete "cross shaped" skeleton road network together with the already built North Cross Island Passage, East West Passage, and Bund Passage. After completion, it will greatly balance the north-south traffic flow in the central urban area, effectively divert the traffic pressure of the north-south elevated roads, and significantly strengthen the radiation level and linkage effect of core areas such as Lujiazui, North Bund, and World Expo, providing key infrastructure support for the optimization and upgrading of Shanghai's urban space. Keywords: Traffic News

Overcoming world-class construction challenges

Despite drawing on the valuable experience of the North Cross Island Highway, which took ten years to build, the construction difficulty of the North South Highway is widely recognized as "superior". Firstly, it is a fully underground tunnel structure, which is expected to become the world's longest continuous underground flow road in the central urban area. The average excavation depth is about 10 meters deeper than the North Cross Island Tunnel, facing more complex geological and existing structure crossing challenges. Secondly, its route runs through the fully developed area from Hongkou to Pudong, with an unusually narrow construction area, unprecedented pressure on environmental protection, noise reduction, pipeline relocation, and traffic organization. Taking the Siping Road work well, the first construction site, as an example, it is adjacent to high-density residential areas such as Ruihong New City and can be called a "dojo in a snail shell". To this end, the project has gathered 21 top experts in the industry to form a consulting committee, and will widely apply innovative technologies in the construction to meet the ultimate test of Shanghai's urban construction and management capabilities. (This article is from the official website www.seetao.com of Jian Dao. Reproduction without permission is prohibited, otherwise it will be prosecuted. Please indicate Jian Dao website+original link when reprinting.) Jian Dao website traffic column editor/Gao Xue