After the foundation stone had been laid, a bottle containing local newspapers, Hongkong and Mexican dollars, a fifty cent piece, twenty cent piece, ten cent piece, five cent piece and a one cent piece were placed in a cavity in the stone.
Some delay was experienced in proceeding with the building of the road. There were many obstacles in the way of an immediate commencement, chief of which being the military objections to the line of road from Kennedy Town to Aberdeen. After much correspondence, which culminated in a Memorial to the Secretary of State, the military objections were withdrawn on the following conditions: (a) The road to follow generally the 150 ft. contour; (b) The revetments on the seaward side of the road to form a three feet parapet; (c) The platforms over any nullahs the road may cross to be easily removable, and (d) Protections to be formed at points, suitable to serve as gun positions.
Messrs. Denison, Ram and Gibbs, architects, were asked to submit a report and plan of a trace, made to prove the practicability of the road following the 150 feet contour from Kennedy Town to Aberdeen. The result was satisfactory, and after certain alterations were made on the trace, a plan was submitted for the approval of the Director of Public Works. His approval was received in November, 1900, and on March 28, 1901, Mr. David Wood, then Hon. Secretary of the Jubilee Committee, instructed Messrs. Denison, Ram and Gibbs to proceed with the work. Satisfactory arrangements were made with the owners of lots through which the road ran, and Mr. Lai A. Ping having been engaged as contractor, the work was commenced.
When completed, the road, starting at Belcher's Bay near the new Tung Wah Plague Hospital, rose for the first half mile at a gradient of 1 in 20, and then proceeded 1¼ miles level, after which there was a rising gradient for half a mile of 1 in 30, followed by a similar falling gradient for another half mile. The road then ran level for 1¼ miles, after which it fell at a gradient of 1 in 20 for 880 yards and finished up with a level mile. Of this length, 4½ miles were new road and 1¼ miles old.
The road passed the French Mission, through the Dairy Farm and crossed the old Aberdeen Road about a mile to the Victoria side of Aberdeen. At the Aberdeen end, a path was made from the Mount Kellet Road, so that Peak residents could obtain access to the Jubilee Road without passing through Aberdeen village. The road, which was 16 feet wide, crossed numerous nullahs and gullies, had ten bridges, with brick arches and white granite face-work. The longest bridge had four spans of 10 feet each, and crossed a stream from the Pokfulam Reservoir. The cost of the road was about $112,000.
With reference to the leading article in this paper yesterday and the mention of a life-saving corps in Hongkong many years ago, readers will no doubt be interested to learn something concerning this body, which was in existence over fifty years back.