THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 1983
ELEGANCE ROAD FLYOVER OPENS
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TRAVELLING TIME BETWEEN HUNG HOM AND KWUN TONG WILL BE REDUCED FURTHER WITH THE OPENING TODAY OF THE ELEGANCE ROAD FLYOVER LAST SECTION OF ROUTE 3.
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THE REV JOYCE BENNETT, UNOFFICIAL MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, WHO OFFICIATED AT THE OPENING CEREMONY, SAID ROUTE 3 WOULD NOW EXTEND RIGHT INTO KWUN TONG ENABLING TRAFFIC TO BYPASS THE HEAVILY CONGESTED INDUSTRIAL AND RESIDENTIAL AREA OF NGAU TAU KOK.
IN ADDITION, SHE SAID, THE FLYOVER WOULD IMPROVE SUBSTANTIALLY THE CAPACITY OF THE KWUN TÔNG ROAD/LAI YIP STREET/ELEGANCE ROAD JUNCTION BY THE SEPARATION OF THROUGH TRAFFIC ALONG KWUN TONG ROAD.
MISS BENNETT SAID THAT WITH THE COMPLETION OF ROUTE 3, KWUN TONG WAS NOW SERVED BY A DIRECT HIGH CAPACITY TRAFFIC LINK, VIA THE CROSS-HARBOUR TUNNEL TO HONG KONG ISLAND AND VIA ROUTE 2 TO THE WESTERN AND NORTHERN REGIONS OF KOWLOON.
IT WOULD ALSO PROVIDE BETTER ACCESS TO KOWLOON BAY DEVELOPMENT, THE AIRCARGO TERMINAL AND HUNG HOM.
MISS BENNETT RECALLED THAT IN HER MAIDEN SPEECH IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL IN OCTOBER 1976, SHE WAS HIGHLY CRITICAL OF THE FACT THAT THERE WAS ONLY ONE ROAD INTO KWUN TONG. NOW WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS ROUTE 3, WE HAVE THREE GOOD ROADS BY WHICH WE CAN GET IN AND OUT OF KWUN TONG.+
LOOKING FURTHER AHEAD, SHE SAID, ROUTE 3 WOULD SERVE AS A MAJOR LINK TO JUNK BAY NEW TOWN AND ANY FUTURE LEI YUE MUN CROSSING.
MISS BENNETT CONGRATULATED THE ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, WHO DESIGNED THE FLYOVER AND SUPERVISED ITS CONSTRUCTION, AND KUMAGAÍ GUMI (H.K.) LTD., THE CONTRACTOR, FOR ITS GOOD WORK.
IN HIS SPEECH WELCOMING MISS BENNETT, THE DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT, MR F.E. SHORT, SAID THAT ROUTE 3 WAS CONSTRUCTED AND BROUGHT INTO USE IN STAGES.
THE ELEVATED ROAD FROM WUHU STREET IN HUNG HOM TO THE SAN SHAN INTERCHANGE IN KOWLOON CITY WAS OPENED TO TRAFFIC IN 1981 WHILE THE TUNNEL UNDER KAI TAK AIRPORT, SOME OF THE ROADS ON THE KOWLOON BAY RECLAMATION, AND THE WAI YIP STREET INTERCHANGE CAME INTO USE LAST YEAR.
MR SHORT SAID THAT THE SUBSTRUCTURE WORK FOR THE FLYOVER WAS COMPLETED IN 1980 AT A COST OF $20 MILLION AS PART OF THE WORK ENTRUSTED TO THE MASS TRANSIT RAILWAY CORPORATION DURING THE IR CONSTRUCTION OF THE NGAU TAU KOK STATION LINE.
+THE SUPERSTRUCTURE HAS TAKEN 18 MONTHS TO COMPLETE AT A COST OF ABOUT $25 MILLION, HE ADDED.
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