THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 1978
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HIGHWAYS AND FLYOVERS - A MARK OF IMPROVED ROAD COMMUNICATION
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THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT HAS OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS BUILT A NUMBER OF MAJOR ROAD LINKS AND FLYOVERS THROUGHOUT HONG KONG, RESULTING IN MUCH IMPROVEMENT ON ROAD COMMUNICATION.
THIS WAS STATED BY DR. NIP KAM-FAN, ACTING GOVERNMENT HIGHWAY ENGINEER (WORKS) OF THE HIGHWAYS OFFICE, AT A MEETING OF THE LIONS CLUB OF CASTLE PEAK THIS EVENING.
MUCH OF THE EXPANSION OF THE ROAD NETWORK, HE ADDED, HAD BEEN IN THE FORM OF MULTI-LANE HIGH CAPACITY URBAN ROADS WITH GRADE SEPARATED INTERSECTIONS.
DR. HIP NAMED A FEW MAJOR ROAD PROJECTS WHICH HAVE BEEN OR ARE TO BE COMPLETED SHORTLY. THESE INCLUDE THE SECOND LION RCCK TUNNEL AND THE TUEN MUN ROAD WHICH WILL BE OPENED TO TRAFFIC LATER THIS YEAR.
BESIDES THESE, HE SAID, THERE WERE NUMEROUS OTHER ROAD PROJECTS CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION. EXISTING ROADS WERE AIDENED AND IMPROVED WHILE OLD ROADS WHICH HAD REACHED THE END OF THE IR ECONOMIC LIFE, WERE RECONSTRUCTED.
+ IN ALL OF THESE VARIOUS ROAD PROJECTS, UTILITY COMPANIES ARE INVARIABLY INFORMED OF THE PROPOSED ROADWORKS SO THAT THEY COULD PUT IN HAND THE IR PLANNED NEW INSTALLATIONS OR IMPROVEMENT OF EXISTING SERVICES AT THE SAME TIME SO AS TO MINIMISE THE INCONVENIENCE TO THE PUBLIC, DR. NIP SAID.
+ IT IS A STANDING PRACTICE IN THE HIGHWAYS OFFICE THAT TRENCH OPENINGS WILL NOT BE PERMITTED IN A CARRIAGEWAY CONSTRUCTED OR RECONSTRUCTED WITHIN THE PREVIOUS FIVE YEARS OR RESURFACED WITHIN THE PAST YEAR UNLESS THE UTILITY COMPANY CONCERNED COULD PROVE THAT THE NEED FOR THE OPENING COULD NOT HAVE BEEN ANTICIPATED AND THAT THERE IS NO PRACTICABLE ALTERNATIVE.+
APART FROM THESE ROAD WORKS, HE SAID, THE HIGHWAYS OFFICE EACH MONTH HAD TO MANAGE OVER 1,000 TRENCH OPENINGS MADE EY UTILITY COMPANIES EXAMINE OVER 80 DEVELOPMENT PLANS, SUEMITTED BY AUTHORISED ARCHITECTS, WHICH MAY AFFECT THE HIGHWAY SYSTEM= RESPOND SWIFTLY TO 2,500 COMPLAINTS ABOUT BLOCKED DRAINAGE AND MA INTA IN 1,100 KILOMETRES OF ROAD AND OVER 300 SETS OF TRAFFIC LIGHT SIGNALS TO FACILITATE THE MOVEMENT OF OVER 200,000 VEHICLES. THESE WERE ALL PART OF THE HIGHWAYS OFFICE'S WORK,
TO DEAL WITH THESE PROBLEMS, DR. NIP SAID, THE HIGHWAYS OFFICE HAD AN ESTABLISHMENT OF OVER 2,000 PEOPLE.
+HOWEVER, BECAUSE OF THE CURRENT DUILDING BOOM IN HOʻG KONG AND THE INTENSIVE CONSTRUCTION, WORK UNDERTAKEN BY THE MASS TRANSIT RAILWAY CORPORATION. THERE IS DIFFICULTY IN RECRUITING AND RETAINING ADEQUATE ENGINEERS AND TECHNICAL STAFF, HE SAIL.
/+THE GREATEST PROBLEM