The Bund Tunnel () is a sub-surface road and road tunnel in the city of

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. The tunnel connects the districts of

Hongkou , formerly spelled Hongkew, is a district of Shanghai, forming part of the northern urban core. It has a land area of and a population of 852,476 as of 2010. It is the location of the Astor House Hotel, Broadway Mansions, Lu Xun Park, and Hon ...

to the north and Huangpu to the south. In the south, the tunnel begins on a stretch of South Zhongshan Road, which runs along the western bank of the

Huangpu River The Huangpu (), formerly romanized as Whangpoo, is a river flowing north through Shanghai. The Bund and Lujiazui are located along the Huangpu River. The Huangpu is the biggest river in central Shanghai, with the Suzhou Creek being its maj ...

, on the east side of the old Chinese city. It follows South Zhongshan Road and No. 2 East Zhongshan Road, crosses

Yan'an Road Yan'an Road (; Shanghainese: Yi'ue Lu) is a road in Shanghai, a major east–west thoroughfare through the centre of the city. The modern Yan'an Road is in three sections, reflecting three connected streets which existed pre-1945: Avenue Edward ...

, a major east-west artery (with a major exit to and from Yan'an Road), then follows East No. 1 Zhongshan Road through

the Bund The Bund or Waitan (, Shanghainese romanization: ''Nga3thae1'', , ) is a waterfront area and a protected historical district in central Shanghai. The area centers on a section of Zhongshan Road (East Zhongshan Road No.1) within the former Shang ...

. At the northern end of the Bund, where the surface road joins the historic

Garden Bridge The Garden Bridge project was an unsuccessful private proposal for a pedestrian bridge over the River Thames in London, England. Originally an idea of Joanna Lumley, and strongly supported by then-Mayor of London Boris Johnson, the designer Tho ...

to cross

Suzhou Creek Suzhou Creek (or Soochow Creek), also called the Wusong (Woosung) River, is a river that passes through the Shanghai city center. It is named after the neighboring city of Suzhou (Soochow), Jiangsu, the predominant settlement in this area prior ...

, the tunnel also crosses Suzhou Creek under the bridge. On the northern bank of Suzhou Creek, the tunnel briefly follows Daming Road, with another major exit leading east onto Changzhi Road, while the main tunnel veers west and joins Wusong Road. Construction on the tunnel began in 2007. The southern section of the tunnel is a subsurface road built using

cut and cover A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A Pipeline transport, pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used ...

methods, while the northern part was tunnelled using a

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of a ...

method. The tunnel has two levels, with each level carrying three lanes of traffic in one direction. The tunnel was opened on 28 March 2010.

Replaced structures

The construction of the tunnel was designed to relieve the heavy traffic through the Bund area. It rendered obsolete two late 20th century structures which had impacted the streetscape and sightlines in the Bund area, allowing them to be removed. The Bund Tunnel replaced the road transport function of the Wusong Road Gate Bridge over Suzhou Creek (and its water control function was replaced by the new Jinshan Road Gate). The concrete road bridge and flood gate, which was built to the west of Garden Bridge to relieve traffic from the historic bridge, was criticised for affecting the historic sightlines between Garden Bridge and landmarks further up Suzhou Creek (such as the General Post Office Building).吴淞路闸桥明凌晨全面开拆今后形成外滩源公园
(Wusong Road Gate Bridge demolition fully commences tomorrow morning; Will in future form "the Bund Origin" park). ''Morning News''. 16 October 2009 Wusong Road Gate Bridge was demolished in 2009, prior to the completion of the Bund Tunnel. Additionally, instead of being directed to surface roads, traffic entering the Bund from

could now be directed underground into the Bund Tunnel. This made the large concrete ramp by which the

Yan'an Elevated Road Yan'an Elevated Road () is an elevated expressway in the city of Shanghai, China. It runs along Yan'an Road in its entirety, continuing from the east terminus of G50 Shanghai-Chongqing Expressway at Huqingping Interchange (close to Hongqiao Int ...

joined the Bund redundant. The ramp, which was informally called the ''No. 1 Turing Ramp in Asia'' by citizens, along with a significant stretch of the elevated expressway, which had long impacted the streetscape near Yan'an Road's junction with the Bund, was demolished.

References

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