Construction started this week of a 25.6km expressway across the Yangtze River, connecting Pudong with Chongming Island. The US$1.5 billion project includes a 10.3km bridge with a central 750m cable-stayed span. The bridge will link Changxing and Chongming islands. An 8.9km tunnel and a 6.3km elevated road make up the remainder of the route, which will replace a two hour ferry crossing.