XN000022-1980-02-19 — Page 4

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1980

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+AT THE SAME TIME, THE NETWORK WILL REDUCĘ RESPONSE TIME TO EMERGENCY BY ONE PRECIOUS MINUTE — A SAVING OF MORE THAN 13 000 MINUTES A YEAR - THROUGH DIRECT CALL-OUT LINKS TO ALL FIRE AND AMBULANCE STATIONS AND A COMPUTER VEHICLE STATUS AND LOCATION SYSTEM FOR MOBILISING AMBULANCES, HE SAID.

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TO KEEP PACE WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF HONG KONG, THE SPOKESMAN SAID, AN EXPANSION PROGRAMME HAS ALSO BEEN DRAWN UP FOR FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES, BASED ON A GRADED RESPONSE TIME RANGING FROM SIX MINUTES IN THE URBAN AREAS UP TO ABOUT 20 MINUTES IN THE MORE RURAL AREAS.

MORE NEW STATIONS AND AMBULANCE DEPOTS WILL BE BUILT TO STREAM- LINE OPERATIONS. PROJECTS UNDER CONSTRUCTION ARE A DIVISIONAL FIRE STATION IN SHA TIN, A COMMAND HEADQUARTERS FOR THE NEW TERRITORIES, A SUB-DIVISIONAL FIRE STATION IN DISCOVERY BAY AND A FIRE STATION IN MAI PO. SITE FORMATION HAD STARTED FOR THE WONG TAI SIN DIVISIONAL FIRE STATION AND THE KOWLOON COMMAND HEADQUARTERS.

OTHER NEW PROJECTS ARE IN THE PIPELINE THREE MORE FIRE STATIONS HAVE REACHED THE FINAL PLANNING STAGE AND CONSTRUCTION WORK WILL BEGIN AS SOON AS FINANCIAL APPROVAL IS GIVEN. THESE ARE AT CHAI WAN, SHEUNG WAN AND POK FU LAM.

APPROACH ROADS TO AIRPORT TUNNEL TO OPEN TO TRAFFIC IN JUNE

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PART OF THE WESTERN APPROACHES TO THE AIRPORT TUNNEL WILL

BE OPENED TO TRAFFIC IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS YEAR.

A SPOKESMAN FOR THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT SAID TODAY: +WORK ON THE WESTERN APPROACHES, COMPRISING AN INTERCHANGE AT THE JUNCTION OF WUHU STREET AND CHATHAM ROAD, A 1 100-METRE ELEVATED ROADWAY ALONG CHATHAM ROAD AND KOWLOON CITY ROAD TOGETHER WITH AN INTERCHANGE AT SAN SHAN ROAD, IS NEAR COMPLETION.+

WHEN COMPLETED, HE ADDED, PARTS OF THESE ROADS WOULD BE OPENED IN JUNE TO IMPROVE TRAFFIC FLOW IN HUNG HOM AND TO KWA WAN.

LAST WEEK, A FOOTBRIDGE AT THE JUNCTION OF WUHU STREET AND CHATHAM ROAD WAS OPENED TO FACILITATE PEDESTRIAN MOVEMENT IN THE AREA.

THE SPOKESMAN POINTED OUT THAT THE WESTERN APPROACHES FORMED A SECTION OF A SIX-KILOMETRE HIGH CAPACITY ROUTE, KNOWN AS ROUTE 3.

ANOTHER SECTION IS MADE UP OF A 1 200-METRE TUNNEL UNDERNEATH KAI TAK AIRPORT AND AN 800-METRE ROAD IN KWUN TUNG, KNOWN AS EASTERN CONNECTION.

KWUN

CIVIL ENGINEERING WORK ON THE TUNNEL HAS BEEN COMPLETED AND THAT ON THE EASTERN CONNECTION SHOULD BE FINISHED LATER THIS YEAR.

MEANWHILE, THE INSTALLATION OF LIGHTING AND VENTILATION SYSTEM OF THE AIRPORT TUNNEL IS PROGRESSING SATISFACTORILY WHILE THE INSTALLATION OF THE TRAFFIC SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM WILL BEGIN SHORTLY.

/+IF EVERYTHING