A bridge across the Pingtan Strait linking Pingtan Island and Fuqing, Fujian province, is close to completion after two and a half years of continuous construction, Fujian Daily reported Sunday.

After pouring the concrete for the last box girder Sunday afternoon, workers finally combined all the segments of the bridge for the first time since its construction on Sept 28, 2010.

The bridge, measuring a length of 6 kilometers, is an auxiliary structure to the Haixia Bridge linking Fuqing and Pingtan. The one-way, three-lane road will greatly relieve traffic pressure on the Haixia Bridge and propel Pingtan one step closer to becoming a traffic hub in Fujian province.

Edited by Chen Zhilin and Michael Thai