XN000022-1981-04-01 — Page 2

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 1981

NT CIRCULAR ROAD CONTRACTS SIGNED

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THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT TODAY (WEDNESDAY) AWARDED TWO CONTRACTS TOTALLING MORE THAN $100 MILLION FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF SECTIONS OF THE FUTURE NEW TERRITORIES CIRCULAR ROAD.

ONE OF THE CONTRACTS, WORTH MORE THAN $65 MILLION, WAS WON BY KUMAGAI GUMI LTD. FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF WO HOP SHEK INTERCHANGE ON TAI PO ROAD AND THE OTHER, VALUED AT JUST OVER $40 MILLION, WAS AWARDED TO TOBISHIMA CORPORATION FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A DUAL CARRIAGEWAY BETWEEN YUEN LONG AND AU TAU.

MR TOM ARMOUR, CHIEF ENGINEER, HIGHWAYS (NEW TERRITORIES) DIVISION, OF THE PWD'S HIGHWAYS OFFICE, SIGNED BOTH CONTRACTS FOR THE GOVERNMENT.

MR ARMOUR SAID THE TWO PROJECTS FORMED PART OF THE FUTURE NEW TERRITORIES CIRCULAR ROAD SCHEDULED TO BE COMPLETED IN 1984 AT A COST OF ABOUT $2 500 MILLION.

WORK ON THE WO HOP SHEK INTERCHANGE, DESIGNED BY THE STRUCTURAL DESIGN DIVISION OF THE HIGHWAYS OFFICE, COMPRISES THE CONSTRUCTION OF A GRADE-SEPARATED INTERCHANGE WHICH WILL HAVE TWO BRIDGES, VARIOUS APPROACH ROADS AND SLIP ROADS AS WELL AS A BRIDGE FOR PEDESTRIANS AND CYCLISTS. FOOTPATHS AND CYCLE TRACKS WILL ALSO BE BUILT ON EITHER SIDE OF THE INTERCHANGE.

ALTHOUGH THE WHOLE INTERCHANGE PROJECT WOULD NOT BE COMPLETED UNTIL 1983, MR ARMOUR SAID, THE BRIDGE WHICH WOULD SEPARATE TRAFFIC FLOW FROM THE RAILWAY WOULD BE FINISHED NEXT YEAR, THUS ELIMINATING THE EXISTING LEVEL CROSSING IN TAI PO ROAD IN TIME FOR THE ELECTR IF ICATION OF THE KOWLOON-CANTON RAILWAY.

REFERRING TO THE OTHER CONTRACT, WHICH WAS AWARDED TO TOBISHIMA CORPORATION, HE SAID THE ROAD TO BE BUILT BETWEEN YUEN LONG AND AU TAU MEASURED ABOUT 1 600 METRES.

THE DUAL CARRIAGEWAY, SCHEDULED FOR COMPLETION LATE NEXT YEAR, WILL RUN FROM THE EXISTING EASTERN ROUNDABOUT IN YUEN LONG TO THE JUNCTION OF CASTLE PEAK ROAD AND KAM TIN ROAD AT AU TAU.

MR ARMOUR SAID THAT CYCLE TRACK AND FOOTPATHS WOULD BE BUILT ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ROAD WITH PEDESTRIANS AND CYCLISTS SEPARATED FROM VEHICULAR TRAFFIC BY CRASH BARRIERS AND A LANDSCAPED ROADSIDE VERGE.

SAFE CROSSING OF THE ROAD WILL BE PROVIDED BY THREE STRATEGICALLY PLACED FOOTBRIDGES AND SUBWAYS UNDER A NEW ROUNDABOUT AT AU TAU.

+RAMPS IN ADDITION TO STEPS WILL BE PROVIDED FOR ALL FOOTBRIDGES AND SUBWAYS AND THE AVAILABILITY OF THESE TWO ALTERNATIVES SHOULD BE PARTICULARLY HELPFUL TO PEOPLE VISITING POK OI HOSPITAL WHICH IS SERVED BY ONE OF THE FOOTBRIDGES,+ SAID MR ARMOUR.

CONSTRUCTION WILL BE SUPERVISED BY THE HIGHWAYS (NEW TERRITORIES) DIVISION OF THE HIGHWAYS OFFICE, PWD.

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