172. On 17th December an area of 3/8" bituminous carpet 1′′ thick was laid with a Barber-Greene Spreader but because of the congested city traffic and output of the mixing plants only 15 tons or 320 square yards were laid per hour on a straight stretch of carriageway. It was found that city roads with their numerous manholes were not ideal places for the use of this machine. Altogether 1,480 square yards were laid by the spreader, the remaining 1,800 square yards around bellmouths, etc., being laid by hand.
173. The Utility Companies backfilled their last trench on 18th December and the closed section of the road was re-opened for traffic on Christmas Eve. The speed with which the whole job was carried out was due to the excellent co-operation and co-ordination of effort between the Department and the Public Utility Companies and if it had not been for a gas main which was unexpectedly found to require relaying, the work might have been completed much earlier.
RECONSTRUCTION OF AU TAU BRIDGE.
174. Au Tau Bridge, located near milestone 27 on the Castle Peak Road just north of its junction with Kam Tin Road is the longest bridge in the Colony. It was originally constructed in 1915/16 and consisted of nine 30 ft. spans 16 ft. wide with two 12 ft. open abutments. Four longitudinal R.C.C. beams designed on the continuous span principle and carrying a 6" deck slab were supported on 14′′ square R.C.C. piles. Approximately 25 years ago this bridge was widened to 20 feet by the addition of a row of 12 x 6 R.S.J. piles supporting 17 x 6 R.S.J. beams, a reinforced concrete deck being constructed between the existing bridge and the row of beams. In 1939 demolition chambers were built into the abutments and during the Japanese invasion in December 1941, these were blown. As a result not only were the abutments and end spans effectively wrecked, but owing to the continuity of the beams transverse cracks were found in many of the centre spans. After the war the abutments and end bays were filled in as a temporary measure and the bridge put back into use. This had the effect of reducing the waterway by about 40 feet. In September 1949, a thorough inspection of the bridge was carried out and this showed that complete fractures which were attributed to direct settlement of the abutments and to overloading had occurred in three places. As the Military Authorities were at that time erecting a Bailey Bridge over the same stream to take their heavy traffic it was decided to take the opportunity of completely reconstructing the old bridge as soon as the Bailey could be used as a by-pass.
175. Construction of the bridge. The new bridge is 275 feet between abutments in 25 feet bays. The overall width is 36 feet divided into 3 units of 12 feet, each being simply supported by capped piers of 18" x 18" R.C.C. piles.
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172. On 17th December an area of 3/8" bituminous carpet 1′′ thick was laid with a Barber-Greene Spreader but because of the congested city traffic and output of the mixing plants only 15 tons or 320 square yards were laid per hour on a straight stretch of carriageway. It was found that city roads with their numerous manholes were not ideal places for the use of this machine. Altogether 1,480 square yards were laid by the spreader, the remaining 1,800 square yards around bellmouths, etc., being laid by hand.
173. The Utility Companies backfilled their last trench on 18th December and the closed section of the road was re-opened for traffic on Christmas Eve. The speed with which the whole job was carried out was due to the excellent co-operation and co-ordination of effort between the Department and the Public Utility Companies and if it had not been for a gas main which was unexpectedly found to require relaying, the work might have been completed much earlier.
RECONSTRUCTION OF AU TAU BRIDGE.
174. Au Tau Bridge, located near milestone 27 on the Castle Peak Road just north of its junction with Kam Tin Road is the longest bridge in the Colony. It was originally constructed in 1915/16 and consisted of nine 30 ft. spans 16 ft. wide with two 12 ft. open abutments. Four longitudinal R.C.C. beams designed on the continuous span principle and carrying a 6" deck slab were supported on 14′′ square R.C.C. piles. Approximately 25 years ago this bridge was widened to 20 feet by the addition of a row of 12 x 6 R.S.J. piles supporting 17 x 6 R.S.J. beams, a reinforced concrete deck being constructed between the existing bridge and the row of beams. In 1939 demolition chambers were built into the abutments and during the Japanese invasion in December 1941, these were blown. As a result not only were the abutments and end spans effectively wrecked, but owing to the continuity of the beams transverse cracks were found in many of the centre spans. After the war the abutments and end bays were filled in as a temporary measure and the bridge put back into use. This had the effect of reducing the waterway by about 40 feet. In September 1949, a thorough inspection of the bridge was carried out and this showed that complete fractures which were attributed to direct settlement of the abut- ments and to overloading had occurred in three places. As the Military Authorities were at that time erecting a Bailey Bridge over the same stream to take their heavy traffic it was decided to take the opportunity of completely reconstructing the old bridge as soon as the Bailey could be used as a by-pass.
175. Construction of the bridge. The new bridge is 275 feet between abutments in 25 feet bays. The overall width is 36 feet divided into 3 units of 12 feet, each being simply supported by capped piers of 18" x 18" R.C.C. piles.
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