XN000022-1994-05-09 — Page 7

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MONDAY, MAY 9, 1994

SAID MRS CHAN: "WE ARE CELEBRATING THE FACT THAT WE HAVE REACHED A SIGNIFICANT MILESTONE IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF OUR NEW HIGHWAYS.

IT

SHE SAID THE BREATHROUGH ALSO ILLUSTRATED THE EXTREMELY GOOD PROGRESS THAT WAS BEING MADE ON THE AIRPORT CORE PROGRAMME.

"CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS TOTALLING SOME $48 BILLION AWARDED, ALL WITHIN BUDGET AND PROGRESSING WELL. THAT IS A ACHIEVEMENT BY INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS, OF WHICH HONG THE CONTRACTORS INVOLVED, CAN BE PROUD," MRS CHAN SAID.

HAVE BEEN

REMARKABLE

KONG, AND ALL

OF

THE TUNNEL IS AN IMPORTANT SECTION OF ROUTE 3. THIS SECTION ROUTE 3 IS A MAJOR LINK IN THE AIRPORT CORE PROGRAMME'S HIGHWAYS NETWORK CONNECTING THE NEW AIRPORT AT CHEK LAP KOK AND TUNG CHUNG NEW TOWN TO KOWLOON AND CENTRAL HONG KONG. ROUTE 3 WILL ALSO BE EXTENDED NORTHWARDS TO THE NEW TERRITORIES NEAR THE BORDER WITH CHINA.

MRS CHAN SAID THE TUNNEL WHEN OPENED WILL BRING WELCOME IMPROVEMENTS TO LOCAL TRAFFIC CONDITIONS.

IT WILL PROVIDE MUCH NEEDED ADDITIONAL CAPACITY FOR THE KWAI CHUNG ROAD NETWORK BY CHANNELLING THE CROSS-BORDER TRAFFIC VIA THE NEW RAMBLER CHANNEL BRIDGE AND KWAI CHUNG VIADUCT, THUS RELIEVING THE CURRENT HEAVY TRAFFIC CONGESTION IN KWAI CHUNG AND TSUEN WAN.

MRS CHAN SAID: "ALONG WITH OTHER CONSTRUCTION WORK [S BEING CARRIED OUT ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS, WITH THE MINIMUM SERVICES AND RESIDENTS.

ACP CONTRACTS, THE ACCORDING ΤΟ STRICT DISRUPTION TO EXISTING

MET, ALONG

...

I AM HAPPY TO HEAR THAT THESE STANDARDS ARE BEING WITH THE SAFETY STANDARDS THAT WE HAVE SET FOR THE ACP.

THE CHEUNG CHING TUNNEL WILL BE HONG KONG'S WIDEST ROAD TUNNEL. ITS TWIN TUBES RUNNING UNDER THE CENTRAL RIDGE OF TSING YI WILL EACH BE 17 METRES WIDE AND ACCOMMODATE THREE LANES OF TRAFFIC OTHER ROAD TUNNELS IN HONG KONG ONLY HAVE TWO LANES.

FOLLOWING THE

WORK ON THE TUNNEL BEGAN ON MARCH 5 LAST YEAR AWARD OF AN $856 MILLION CONTRACT TO DRAGAGES ET TRAVAUX PUBLICS WITH THE FIRST BLAST TAKING PLACE TWO MONTHS LATER.

THE MAJOR PART OF THE TUNNEL WAS EXCAVATED BY BLASTING THROUGH SOLID VOLCANIC ROCK AND GRANITE WORKING INWARDS FROM EITHER ENDS.

MR CK WONG, THE CHIEF ENGINEER OF THE ROUTE 3 DIVISION OF

THE HIGHWAYS DEPARTMENT WHICH IS SUPERVISING THE WORKS, SAID BROUGHT ADVANCED TUNNELLING TECHNOLOGY TO HONG KONG.

THE

PROJECT

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HONG KONG, HOLES FOR EXPLOSIVES WERE DRILLED USING COMPUTERS AND LASERS.

"TWO DRILLING MACHINES OF A TYPE KNOWN AS AN AUTOMATIC JUMBO' + WHICH ARE EQUIPPED WITH COMPUTERS AND OPERATED WITH THE AID OF LASER BEAMS, WERE USED TO DRILL THE HOLES FOR EXPLOSIVES, FURTHER ACCURACY IN BLASTING AND IN THE AMOUNT OF EXPLOSIVES NEEDED, WONG.

J

IMPROVING SAID MR

/IN ADDITION,