As early as March 2007 it was decided to strengthen the Waibaidu bridge due to "concerns that construction of a nearby tunnel could damage the structure. Construction of the tunnel - known as the Bund passage project - will begin this year for completion in 2010. The piers along the steel truss Waibaidu Bridge will be upgraded following a complete inspection...City engineers have managed to track down the original blueprints, which were written in English." Part of the reason for the restoration project was "to make way for the construction of a huge two-level vehicle tunnel called the "Bund Passage" below the Bund, or Zhongshan Road E1, to alleviate ground traffic congestion." According to the "Shanghai Daily" newspaper in 2008, "Despite its 100 years of use, the bridge recently passed a quality test which showed it would have been safe to use for at least 30 years even without this major facelift." The restoration plan, whose key concept was "restoring and reinforcing the original style", was approved by the State Cultural Relic Bureau, with the stipulation that "the bridge's body above the lowest water level was kept intact".