WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 1977
$41 MILLION CONTRACT FOR EAST KOWLOON WAY
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THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT TODAY LET A CONTRACT FOR $41 MILLION FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF EAST KOWLOON WAY - PART OF THE $300 MILLION ROAD SCHEME DESIGNED TO SPEED UP TRAFFIC BETWEEN KWUN TONG AND URBAN KOWLOON.
EAST KOWLOON WAY CONSISTS OF A 1, 200-METRE ELEVATED ROADWAY OVER CHATHAM ROAD AND KOWLOON CITY ROAD TO LINK TWO MAJOR INTERCHANGES AT HUNG HOM AND TO KWA WAN.
MR. T.S. NG, CHIEF ENGINEER OF THE P.W.D.'S HIGHWAYS OFFICE, CONSULTANTS MANAGEMENT DIVISION, SAID THE CONTRACT FOR $41,199,864 HAD BEEN AWARDED TO THE EXPRESS TRANSPORT AND BUILDING CONTRACTORS LTD.
HE SAID THAT CONSTRUCTION OF THE ROADWAY WOULD START NEXT MONTH AND WOULD BE COMPLETED IN ABOUT 27 MONTHS.
MR. NG SAID THAT EAST KOWLOON WAY WOULD HAVE FOUR LANES OF TRAFFIC, AND WOULD PROVIDE A MORE DIRECT ROUTE BETWEEN KAI TAK AIRPORT AND HUNG HOM.
AS PART OF THE CONTRACT, THE SECTION OF CHATHAM ROAD BETWEEN ITS JUNCTION WITH WO CHUNG STREET AND HOK YUEN STREET WOULD ALSO BE IMPROVED AND WIDENED TO ACCOMMODATE THE ADDITIONAL TRAFFIC LANES OF EAST KOWLOON WAY.
EAST KOWLOON WAY FORMS AN INTEGRAL PART OF ROUTE 3 A SIX-KILOMETRE HIGH CAPACITY ROUTE BETWEEN KWUN TONG AND HUNG HOM WHICH WILL PARTLY RUN UNDER THE AIRPORT RUNWAY VIA A 1,200-METRE TUNNEL.
THE TUNNEL LINK IS STRUCTURALLY COMPLETE AND WORK IS PROGRESSING SMOOTHLY ON THE TWO INTERCHANGES SAN SHAN INTERCHANGE AT TO KWA WAN AND WU HU INTERCHANGE IN HUNG HOM WHICH FORM A VITAL PART OF THE WESTERN APPROACHES TO THE AIRPORT TUNNEL.
EAST KOWLOON WAY IS THE LAST LINK IN THE WESTERN APPROACHES. IN ADDITION TO THE FOUR LANES OF TRAFFIC, A SERIES OF SAFE PEDESTRIAN CROSSING FACILITIES WILL BE PROVIDED IN THE EAST KOWLOON WAY.
THE WHOLE ROUTE 3 SCHEME IS SCHEDULED FOR COMPLETION IN 1980.
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