THE part of the Middle Ring Road that was closed for repairs after it was damaged by an overloaded truck two weeks ago was reopened to traffic last night at 8pm, two hours earlier than scheduled, said officials.

"Given that all the work has completed, we decided to reopen it in advance to ease the traffic here," Li Jun, deputy director of Shanghai Road Administration Bureau, who is in charge of the repair project, said yesterday.

"We were very lucky as the asphalting was finished just before the rain hit the city last night."