The bridge links Shanghai to the industrial city of Ningbo across Hangzhou Bay, cutting the distance between them from about 250 miles to just 50 miles.

A 22-mile bridge that its builders claim is the world's longest sea-crossing structure was formally linked-up Tuesday just south of the business hub of Shanghai.

The 36km (22.5 mile) road bridge stretches across the mouth of Hangzhou Bay in the East China Sea.

Officials plan to open the structure next year, once feeder roads and toll booths have been completed.

While it is the longest sea bridge ever built, it is around 2km short of the bridge across Lake Pontchartrain in the US state of Louisiana.

The bridge, which will have six lanes and allow traffic to travel at 100km/h, will shorten the distance between China's commercial capital, Shanghai, and the major industrial port of Ningbo by 120km.

In a break with tradition, private firms provided almost a third of the investment needed for the project, which cost a total of $1.4bn.

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