Over the past forty years of reform and opening-up in China, the government has been making great progress in terms of decision making and policy implementation. Social risk assessments have helped authorities learn more about people's concerns regarding local development projects and policies and this has, in turn, led to more robust economic growth and social stability. CGTN's Feng Yilei looked a massive bridge reconstruction project in eastern China to learn more about this process.

Following decades of congestion and being overloaded, authorities decided to renovate one of eastern China's most iconic structures, the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge is currently in the midst of a two-year overhaul. Few structures across the country touch the hearts of locals in the same way as this 15-hundred meter overpass. Indeed, photographer Xue Xiaohong and her partner have been avidly following bridge's reconstruction since the day it commenced.

XUE XIAOHONG PHOTOGRAPHER "There is a strong feeling for the bridge among local people, not just for its traffic function but also its history. We care about the scheme, its time scale and quality of the reconstruction."

But in 2018, massive infrastructure projects like this generate all kinds of concerns, from health and safety to the environment and pollution. And if these concerns aren't carefully dealt with, there's a likelihood they could get out of control, so it's for this reason, authorities try to meet any local criticism head-on.

RESIDENT "Communications with relevant parties have helped us resolve commuting and lighting problems, but we still have gripes about noise and dust pollution."

The local government had asked Zhou Yanhong and her team to investigate any potential social discontent in the early stages of planning.

But even as the project reaches the half-way stage, they continue to ensure the local communities are satisfied with the progress.

ZHOU YANHONG, HEAD OF DESIGN INSTITUTE NANJING TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING PROJECT MANAGEMENT "We aim to learn more about people's ideas and dissenting voices on rebuilding the bridge and then form a report. We listed ten social risks, among which traffic conditions, safety, environmental and cultural protection were most important to the public."

Their results were then integrated into a concrete action plan.

Zhou realised that the extreme traffic congestion that would come about on both sides of the bridge during the renovation project was their primary concern, and it would need a very tailored solution.

YANG TAO, PRESIDENT NANJING INSTITUTE OF URBAN AND TRAFFIC PLANNING "We worked out our plan based on a detailed survey of transportation capacities and commuting preferences. New transportation routes enable us to divert 85,000 vehicles and over 200 thousand people from the closed bridge. We've been tracking the traffic conditions in response to emergencies. But we are very glad to see that the reconstruction has not caused uncontrollable congestion, and the social response has been good."

Here in Jiangsu Province, there are investigations into potential social issues for nearly all major public projects and policies and they generally have positive outcomes. But some doubt whether the government really expects such an open and unbiased assessment, because, in some circumstances, revealing social discontent or any objections could hinder or even halt policy implementation.

"We've benefited a lot from social risk assessments. It helps improve our implementation and balance social development with personal interests. The third-party assessment services we have purchased also show our commitment towards fair, objective and professional decision making.

Although there is still room for improvement, Chen says the assessment work itself -- just like the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge -- brings the government closer to the people. Feng Yilei, CGTN, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province.