178. The section of road reconstructed was half a mile long and 75 ft. wide between buildings; of this width two 10 ft. wide concrete footpaths were provided and a 55 ft. wide carriageway. The central 15 ft. width of carriageway was occupied by double tram tracks which had been relaid complete with foundations in the previous winter by the Hong Kong Tramways Co., leaving two 20 ft. carriageways for reconstruction this year. The flanking buildings prevented any possible realignment, and existing carriageway and footpath widths had to remain; the only major improvement that could be affected was at the reverse curves, about halfway along its length—each curve with a deflection angle of 70° and a 50 ft. radius on the inside of the kerb—and here the carriageway was widened to a 60 ft. width at the expense of the footpath width. In addition, several old trees which slanted over the carriageway were cut down and this materially improved the effective road width.
179. The existing surface of sand carpet on a tarmacadam or concrete base had deteriorated and was replaced by an 8" thick vibrated concrete slab on a prepared sub-base and a wearing surface 1" thick of bituminous carpet. The concrete slabs were laid in bays 20 ft. wide and 40 ft. in length, with dowel bars at transverse joints. The existing 6" × 12" granite flat concrete channels 18" wide were formed as an integral part of the carriageway which was increased in slab depth from 8" to 9" with a 1" rebate provided to take the bituminous wearing carpet. Bus stops 10 ft. wide and 60 ft. long were provided at intervals along the roadway where a concrete running surface 9" in depth was formed; no bituminous carpet was laid at these places as previous experience demonstrated the deterioration which oil and petrol have on this type of surface. All stone and bituminous macadam for the contract were supplied from the Government Quarry at Tsat Tze Mui.
180. No major inspection or replacement of the underground utility services had been made in Queen's Road East since the war, as a result the work of actual road reconstruction was outweighed by the underground work required and the Roads Office role was the one of co-ordinating all utility services.
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