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MONDAY, JUNE 13, 1963
+ROAD TRAFFIC IN THE ONCE SEDATE NEW TERRITORIES IS BEING REVOLUTIONISED, AS MORE ULTRA-MODERN HIGHWAYS ARE BUILT TO SERVICE THE GROWING POPULATION AND INDUSTRIALISATION THERE,+ MR BEATON SAID.
LOOKING AT THE HUGE TRANSPORT MAP ON HIS OFFICE WALL, HE TICKED OFF SOME OF THE IMPORTANT TRUNK ROADS UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN THE NEW TERRITORIES -- STAGE 2 OF THE TSUEN WAN BY-PASS, THE TAI PO BY-PASS AND THE NEW TERRITORIES CIRCULAR ROAD SYSTEM FROM SHA TIN TO WO HOP SHEK PLUS A COASTAL ROAD THAT FORMS PART OF THIS SYSTEM.
THE $911-MILLION TRUNK ROAD BETWEEN SHA TIN AND NORTH TAI PO, ONE OF HONG KONG'S LARGEST ROAD PROJECTS, IS EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED EARLY IN 1985.
TO BE READY AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME IS THE FINAL STAGE OF THE DUAL THREE-LANE TSUEN WAN BY-PASS, JOINING KWAY CHUNG TO TUEN MUN ROAD AND PROVIDING EASIER ACCESS TO THE CONTAINER PORT,
THE MAIN SECTION OF THE SHA TIN-LOK MA CHAU HIGHWAY SHOULD BE READY BY 1985, LINKING UP SHA TIN AND FANLING, WITH THE FINAL STRETCH TO LOK MA CHAU SCHEDULED FOR COMPLETION BY 1986, MR BEATON SAID.
LOOKING FURTHER INTO THE FUTURE, MR BEATON CITED
A SIX-KILOMETRE DUAL TWO-LANE HIGHWAY LINKING SHA TIN AND TSUEN WAN, A $600-MILLION PROJECT NOW IN ITS ADVANCED STAGE OF PLANNING, WITH CONSTRUCTION EXPECTED TO START IN 1985.
*THIS HIGHWAY WILL INCLUDE TWO TUNNEL SECTIONS TO BE DRIVEN UNDERNEATH THE SHING MUN COUNTRY PARK, + MR BEATON EXPLAINED.
ONE MAJOR ROAD LINK IS TO BE BUILT IN THE BORDER AREA OF LOK MA CHAU TO JOIN UP EVENTUALLY WITH SHENZHEN-GUANGZHOU HIGHWAY AND ANOTHER IN SHA TAU KOK.
CONSTRUCTION OF THE NORTH TSING YI BRIDGE COULD START IN 1985, LINKING THE THRIVING INDUSTRIAL AREA ON THE ISLAND TO BUSTLING TSUEN WAN NEW TOWN.
A NEW CONCEPT IN HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION HAD BEEN INTRODUCED TO HONG KONG, HE SAID, CITING THE ISLAND EASTERN CORRIDOR AS AN EXAMPLE.
IN THIS CORRIDOR AN ELEVATED SYSTEM IS BEING BUILT ON RECLAIMED LAND AND ABOVE THE SEA, WITH SUPPORTING STRUCTURES DRIVEN 35 TO 40 METRES INTO THE SEABED.
CONSTRUCTION STARTED TWO YEARS AGO AND THE CORRIDOR WOULD BE OPENED IN STAGES, WITH THE WHOLE PROJECT TO BE FINISHED BY 1986, HE SAID,
+MODERN PUBLIC TRANSPORT NETWORKS ARE INSEPARABLE FROM THE ECONOMIC AND OVERALL INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENTS.
+DESPITE OUR LAND SHORTAGE AND HIGH POPULATION AND TRAFFIC DENSITIES, WE AIM TO MAINTAIN A HIGH DEGREE OF MOBILITY THROUGHOUT OUR WHOLE ROAD SYSTEM,+ MR BEATON SAID.
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