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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1986
3197 MILLION FLYOVER, UNDERPASS CONTRACT SIGNED
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THE DREAM OF DRIVING FROM CHAI WAN TO WESTERN ON HONG KONG ISLAND WITHOUT ENCOUNTER ING A SINGLE TRAFFIC HOLD-UP TOOK A AJOR STEP TOWARDS REALITY WHEN A $197 MILLION CONTRACT FOR THE HARCOURT ROAD FLYOVER-PEDDER STREET UNDERPASS PROJECT WAS SIGNED TODAY (MONDAY).
THE CONTRACT IS THE FIRST OF FOUR TO BE AWARDED IN CONNECTION *ITH THE UPGRADED CONNAUGHT ROAD SCHEME, ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS PUT FORWARD IN A 1984 STUDY INTO TRANSPORT REQUIREMENTS IN MID- LEVELS AND CENTRAL.
THE THREE-YEAR CONTRACT COVERS RECONSTRUCTION OF HARCOURT ROAD FLYOVER AND CONSTRUCTION OF AN UNDERPASS AT PEDDER STREET, TOGETHER WITH A WALKWAY SYSTEM ALONG AND ACROSS LAMBETH WALK AND MURRAY ROAD, PLUS A FOOTBRIDGE ACROSS CONAUGHT ROAD CENTRAL AT POTTINGER STREET.
IT HAS BEEN AWARDED TO KIER (HONG KONG) LIMITED, WHOSE MANAGING DIRECTOR, MR C.R.M. LIVINGSTON, SIGNED ON BEHALF OF HIS COMPANY AT TODAY'S CEREMONY. SIGNING FOR THE GOVERNMENT WAS THE DIRECTOR OF HIGHWAYS, MR HAROLD BEATON,
A HIGHWAYS DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN SAID CONNAUGHT ROAD, AS SLL AS BEING A PRIMARY DISTRIBUTOR, AT PRESENT ALSO ACTED AS A LOCAL DISTRIBUTOR.
TRAFFIC CONDITIONS IN CONNAUGHT ROAD WERE BECOMING INCREASINGLY CONGESTED DUE TO INCREASING TRAFFIC VOLUMES, A LACK OF +THROUGH+ CAPACITY AND CONFLICTING MOVEMENTS OF THROUGH AND TURNING TRAFFIC.
MOREOVER, HE SAID, CURRENT AT-GRADE PEDESTRIAN CROSSING MOVEMENTS ACROSS CONNAUGHT ROAD AGGRAVATED THE PROBLEM.
+BY SEGREGATING THESE CONFLICTING MOVEMENTS, THE UPGRADED CONNAUGHT ROAD WILL PROVIDE A FREE-FLOW THROUGH ROUTE IN THE EAST-WEST DIRECTIONS THROUGH CENTRAL AND IMPROVE BOTH VEHICULAR AND PEDESTRIAN CIRCULATION IN THE VICINITY OF THE CONNAUGHT ROAD CORRIDOR, + HE SAID.
PREPARATORY WORKS WERE STARTED WELL IN ADVANCE OF THE CONTRACT BEING AWARDED.
THE HARCOURT ROAD FLYOVER IS TO BE RECONSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE TWO EASTBOUND AND THREE WESTBOUND LANES, AS WELL AS A GRADE SEPARATED SLIP ROAD FROM HARCOURT ROAD WESTBOUND TO COTTON TREE DRIVE.
THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE NEW FLYOVER WILL BE BUILT IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO THE PRESENT STRUCTURE.
WHEN THIS SOUTHERN HALF IS BUILT, TRAFFIC FROM THE EXISTING
FLYOVER WILL BE TRANSFERRED ON TO IT.
THE EXISTING FLYOVER WILL THEN BE DEMOLISHED AND THE REMINDER OF THE NEW FLYOVER BUILT.
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