TITTI
Civil engineering and public works
Laichikok Bay spanned by prestressed road bridge
INSUFFICIENT land for housing and industrial expansion has led the Hong Kong Government to pursue a policy over the past decade of developing new towns in the New Territories and constructing new roads to link them with Kowloon.
In the late fifties, a decision was taken to carry out extensive reclama-
TSUEN WAN
tion off Kwai Chung and to build a new, low-level coastal road which would provide an alternative connec- tion into the western part of the Kowloon peninsula. This would relieve congestion on the steeply graded exist- ing Castle Peak Road (Fig. 1).
The new route involved crossing Laichikok Bay and a comprehensive
NEW COASTAL RD.
CASTLE PEAK RD.
KHAI CHUNG
TSING YI
ISLAND
LAI CHI KOK BRIDGE
STONE CUTTER
HARBOUR
Fig. 1. Key plan
KOWLOON
HONG
KONG
LEI U MUN
by W.A. Maslowicz and G. Wilson
study was put in hand to determine the best way of achieving this. Pro- posals considered were to reclaim the bay, to form a causeway with culverts or short bridges, and to build a bridge. Finally a bridge was chosen decision influenced by the planners' desire not to interfere with existing amenities for swimming and boating in the bay.
a
During the early planning of the bridge, the owners of the land on the east side of the bay decided to develop a large housing estate, which when completed, would accommodate some 60,000 - 70,000 people. It was decided, therefore, to extend the bridge as an elevated roadway through the estate and thus to provide grade separation of pedestrians and fast-moving traffic.
The new bridge, opened last Octo- ber, is 2,154ft. long. It consists of thirteen 93ft. spans and fifteen 63ft. spans with an approach ramp 462ft. in length and carried on retained fill (Fig. 2). It carries dual 33ft. wide carriage- ways, separated by a 6ft. central divide. The marine section of the bridge has two 9ft. wide pedestrian pavements terminating at the end of intermediate access ramps.
Far East BUILDER, April 1969
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