QINGDAO -- The second phase of the Qingdao Jiaozhou Bay Bridge -- a major new road transportation artery in Qingdao City of east China's Shandong Province -- was completed and opened to traffic on Sunday, after 13 months of construction.

The 36.48-km cross-sea bridge connects the urban district of Qingdao City to its Huangdao District, which is located southwest and west of the main urban area of the city on the western shore of the Jiaozhou Bay in the Yellow Sea.

The second phase of the elevated road of the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge starts from the reserved section of Haier Road interchange in Laoshan District of Qingdao in the west and reaches the Qingdao-Yinchuan Expressway in the east.

In 2011, the first phase of the elevated road of the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge was completed and opened to traffic.

The first and second phases of the project have a total length of about 9.2 kilometers, which together make the most convenient traffic artery between Qingdao Huanwan Avenue and Qingdao-Yinchuan Expressway.

"During the construction of the project, many of the construction contractors actively explored new techniques, technologies and materials," said Deng Yang, general manager of the infrastructure branch of China Construction Eighth Engineering Division Co., Ltd.

Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, Qingdao is a major nodal city of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that connects Asia with Europe. It has the highest GDP of any city in Shandong Province.