No_4_April_1969 — Page 33

TITTI

Civil engineering and public works

Laichikok Bay spanned by prestressed road bridge

INSUFFICIENT land for housing and industrial expansion has led the Hong Kong Government to pursue a policy over the past decade of developing new towns in the New Territories and constructing new roads to link them with Kowloon.

In the late fifties, a decision was taken to carry out extensive reclama-

TSUEN WAN

tion off Kwai Chung and to build a new, low-level coastal road which would provide an alternative connec- tion into the western part of the Kowloon peninsula. This would relieve congestion on the steeply graded exist- ing Castle Peak Road (Fig. 1).

The new route involved crossing Laichikok Bay and a comprehensive

NEW COASTAL RD.

CASTLE PEAK RD.

KHAI CHUNG

TSING YI

ISLAND

LAI CHI KOK BRIDGE

STONE CUTTER

HARBOUR

Fig. 1. Key plan

KOWLOON

HONG

KONG

LEI U MUN

by W.A. Maslowicz and G. Wilson

study was put in hand to determine the best way of achieving this. Pro- posals considered were to reclaim the bay, to form a causeway with culverts or short bridges, and to build a bridge. Finally a bridge was chosen decision influenced by the planners' desire not to interfere with existing amenities for swimming and boating in the bay.

a

During the early planning of the bridge, the owners of the land on the east side of the bay decided to develop a large housing estate, which when completed, would accommodate some 60,000 - 70,000 people. It was decided, therefore, to extend the bridge as an elevated roadway through the estate and thus to provide grade separation of pedestrians and fast-moving traffic.

The new bridge, opened last Octo- ber, is 2,154ft. long. It consists of thirteen 93ft. spans and fifteen 63ft. spans with an approach ramp 462ft. in length and carried on retained fill (Fig. 2). It carries dual 33ft. wide carriage- ways, separated by a 6ft. central divide. The marine section of the bridge has two 9ft. wide pedestrian pavements terminating at the end of intermediate access ramps.

Far East BUILDER, April 1969

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