Shanghai has launched feasibility studies into two new tunnels under the Huangpu River and an expansion project to increase capacity of the existing Xiangyin Road Tunnel. All three would link northern Pudong with northern Puxi districts including Yangpu and Hongkou.

The tunnels would help support the city’s port operations in nearby Baoshan district, where there are many container and freight terminals. Cross-river traffic in the city’s north relies largely on the Xiangyin Road Tunnel, which is heavily congested and would benefit from expansion. Traffic in the tunnel has soared from the nearly 6,000 vehicles a day in January 2006 when it opened to 80,600 at present.

When the Yangtze River Tunnel Bridge opens to traffic next year, Pudong will be connected by a fast motorway to the city’s Changxing and Chongming islands, which also house container terminals and port machinery plants.

Shanghai currently has five Huangpu River vehicle tunnels in service and a further eight are under construction.