268
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
loadings imposed on them and so necessitating reconstruc- tion.
The problem was aggravated this year by the exceptional rainstorms in May which caused considerable damage, wash- ing away complete sections of some roads and destroying the surfaces of others. At the height of the rains on 22nd May many main roads were closed by flooding or landslides, King's Road on the Island and the Tai Po Road being particularly severely damaged. It is estimated that $6,000,000 has so far been spent in repairs, restoration of road surfaces and rebuilding of bridges in the New Territories, the oppor- tunity being taken at the same time to effect some improve- ments.
A typhoon in June caused further damage to repair work still in progress after the previous damage, but eventually the work was completed and as a result there was even some slight improvement to the alignment of Tai Po Road in one or two places.
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Under the scheme for feeder roads in the New Territories, the cost of which is being partly met from Colonial De- velopment and Welfare funds, a number of minor roads have been constructed to villages and rural areas previously accessi- ble only by foot-paths. Some villages can now bring produce to market by vehicle in a few minutes, where previously it had involved porterage of several hours by foot or bicycle.
One of these roads, which is five miles in length, has been built on Lantao Island between Silver Mine Bay and Cheung Sha. Plans are already in hand to extend the road for another five miles to Shek Pik, where investigations are proceeding on the site for a new reservoir described at page 247 of Chapter 14.
Development is also proceeding apace in the urban areas. On the Island, Tin Hau Temple Road is being extended a distance of 1 miles to open up new ground for building above North Point, while at Kwun Tong in Kowloon a