The Baiyu Road Bridge, located in the middle section of the Suzhou Creek and connecting Putuo and Changning Districts, is currently under accelerated construction. According to the project team, all pile foundations and pile caps within the Putuo District section have now been completed. As planned, the main bridge span will be erected in July this year, the main bridge structure will be completed and connected in September, and the bridge will be finished and put into use within the year. This slow-traffic bridge, designed primarily for pedestrians while also accommodating non-motorized vehicle pushing, will effectively improve the long-standing shortage of crossings over the Suzhou Creek in the Putuo Changfeng area and enhance the overall slow-traffic system of the "One River, One Creek" initiative.

For a long time, residents of the Putuo Changfeng area heading to the Zhongshan Park area in Changning have mostly had to detour via the Caoyang Road Bridge and Kaixuan Road Bridge, with one-way walking times often exceeding half an hour. The construction of the Baiyu Road Bridge therefore carries the keen expectations of citizens on both banks. "The bridge will effectively fill the gap in existing river crossings, and once completed, it is expected to handle about 30% of the pedestrian river-crossing demand along the banks," said Sun Wei, deputy commander of the Second On-Site Command of the Third Business Division of Shanghai Highway Investment Group.

The main bridge of the Baiyu Road Bridge is about 85 meters long in total, starting from the intersection of Guangfu West Road and Baiyu Road in the north, connecting to the Baiyu Road green space, and extending south to the planned Second Road intersection with Wanhangdu Road, where it will directly connect to a new commercial project in Changning District in the future. In terms of functionality, a pedestrian stairway and a non-motorized vehicle pushing ramp will be provided on each of the north and south banks; one barrier-free elevator is planned on each side of the main bridge to meet the passage needs of all groups of people and further connect new lifestyle scenes on both banks of the Suzhou Creek. "Of course it will be much more convenient once the bridge is built!" said Shao Yan, a resident of a nearby residential compound, who looks forward to the bridge opening soon. "Right now I have to take a detour to get to Longemont in Zhongshan Park; with the bridge, it will be much easier to go directly. I hope the construction progresses faster." Another resident, Ye Xiaowei, specifically mentioned the barrier-free facilities the bridge will have: "It's very convenient for elderly people and for people like us pushing strollers with children! I heard there will be elevators, so no need to climb stairs."

Beyond its thorough functional considerations, the bridge also features distinctive styling in its design. Su Weiyi, a project engineer at the command center, explained that the Baiyu Road Bridge incorporates Chinese design concepts: "The ramp on the Putuo side will form a circle, while the Changning side will connect directly to the new commercial project. Non-motorized vehicles will enter the ground-level roads via the ramp. Viewed from above, the overall shape resembles a jade ruyi scepter."

(Source: Shanghai Putuo)