3
2.
themselves into an economic cooperative zone which, being linked up with Hong Kong, will thus be in a better position to forge ahead towards the
international market.
(vi) To help preserve the economic prosperity of Hong Kong:
Hong Kong is an international centre in the fields of finance, trade, transport and telecommunication. The rapid growth of Hong Kong's re-exports, of which Mainland China remains the largest source, has further upgraded the status of Hong Kong. At present, Hong Kong leads the rest of the world in terms of container throughput. With the completion of the proposed bridge, Hong Kong will get an additional road link with the hinterland. This will undoubtedly further expand the room of development for Hong Kong's economy, and will play a very significant role in preserving a long-term prosperity and development of Hong Kong.
Construction scope and technical standard
The proposed Lingding Yang Bridge starts from Jinding town, Zhuhai. It then extends eastward across the Jinxing waterway, Qiao island, Longxue waterway, Lingding waterway, Inner Lingding island, Fanshi waterway before landing at Black Point, Hong Kong and terminating at Tuen Mun. The whole length of the bridge carriageway mea.ures 52 km (including the 12 km within the teritory of Hong Kong). But the bridge itself is only 28 km long, comprising the Jinxing Waterway section (5 km), the Lingding Waterway section (13.1 km) and the Fanshi Waterway section (9.9 km). The bridge will link up with the Guangzhou- Zhuhai Expressway from the west and with Route 3 of Hong Kong from the east. Pending future development, the bridge might even link up with the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Expressway and the Shenzhen- Shantou Expressway.
With a width of 34 metres,
34 metres, the bridge will provide 6 regular traffic lanes plus 2 emergency lanes, allowing a traffic speed of 100 km/hr. Adopting a suspension bridge structure for its major sections, the bridge will have a main span of 900-1400 metres and a headroom of 60-65 metres.
3.
Implementation programme
The construction work of the bridge project is scheduled to commence in the latter half of 1994 and will be completed in the first half of 1999. Phase 1 of the construction work consists of 13.1 km of bridge section between Qiao island and Inner Lingding island, and Phase 2 consists of 9.9 km between Inner Lingding island and Black Point. To speed up the Phase 1 work, construction of Qiao Bridge will start in August 1994.