The world’s largest tunnel-bridge structure, linking Shanghai with two of its major islands, will be open to traffic at the end of this month, reported China Daily.

The Yangtze River Tunnel-Bridge and connecting expressway will shorten travel to Changxing Island, northeast of the Shanghai mainland, from about 30 minutes to 10 minutes. Travel from Changxing to Chongming Island will take 20 minutes instead of one hour, according to Huang Rong, director of the city’s construction commission.

Currently, the only way to travel to the two islands is by ferry, and services are often suspended in bad weather.

Once the expressway opens on 31 October, a ride from downtown to Chongming Island will be halved to a little more than one hour, Mr Huang said.

Until now, the islands’ development has lagged far behind central Shanghai, partly because of poor transport facilities. Furthermore, with a bridge being constructed to connect Chongming Island to Qidong in Jiangsu province, the tunnel-bridge will eventually serve as a fast link to northern Jiangsu.