Construction has begun on another bridge over Hangzhou Bay that will reduce travel time between Shanghai and Shaoxing by about 40 minutes, a Zhejiang newspaper reported today.

The 69-kilometer bridge between Zhejiang's Jiaxing and Shaoxing will be the second bridge spanning Hangzhou Bay after a 36-kilometer bridge, linking Shanghai with the port of Ningbo, opened on May 1, Qianjiang Daily said.

Twelve kilometers of the new bridge will be across Hangzhou Bay, the report added.

The bridge will cost an estimated 12.8 billion yuan (US$1.83 billion) and is expected to be finished in 2012. It will consist of a two-way highway with eight lanes and has a designed driving speed of 120 kilometers per hour.

Hangzhou Bridge, reportedly the world's longest, opened to the public on May 1. The bridge reduces the 400-kilometer drive between Shanghai and Ningbo by 120 kilometers and shaves driving time between the two cities from four to two-and-a-half hours.

(Shanghai Daily May 12, 2008)