One end of the partly constructed Donghai Bridge was connected to land, engineers announced yesterday.

　　The sea bridge's central portion was connected to Nanhui District. This will make it considerably easier to transport building materials from the district to middle sections of the bridge, which was previously carried out by sea vessels.

　　"The connection will greatly facilitate construction above the sea, making sure the project will be completed by the end of next year," Yan Zuoren, an official of Shanghai Urban Construction Group, said yesterday.

　　The bridge is the key element in the first phase of the Yangshan Deep Water Port project that began in June 2002. The 31-kilometer bridge will link Shanghai to the port at the mouth of Hangzhou Bay, about 27 kilometers from Luchao Harbor in Nanhui.

　　Once completed, Donghai Bridge will be the nation's longest span over the sea.

　　The 25-kilometer roadway above the sea will be connected by about 670 bridge planks.

　　Each plank is the size of four volleyball courts, engineers said. They vowed to finish laying all planks by June 2005.