Unsightly overhead wires to go underground
A three-year project to bury 62.8 kilometers of overhead cables started this month as part of the efforts to spruce up the look of Jing'an District.
The first cables to go underground were along 2 kilometers of Qufu and Tiantong roads. Forty-five utility poles that used to carry wires supplying electricity and telecommunications services will disappear from the landscape.
“We start the program here because Qufu Road is being widened and upgraded as a main thoroughfare to relieve traffic pressure on the Beiheng Passage,” said Dong Weiyi, deputy director of the district’s construction management authority.
He said the district has tailored plans for every road where cables will be moved underground.
“In the southern area of Jing’an where a large number of historic buildings is located, we need to take historical preservation into consideration,” he said.
In the first year, 12.6 kilometers of overhead cables on 21 roads are planned for burial, officials said.
