ENG-1962 — Page 310

COMMUNICATIONS

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On the Mok Fu Ferry Road an old Bailey Bridge was replaced by a new reinforced concrete structure. During the course of this work a 200-year-old stone tablet commemorating a bridge con- structed on the site in 1748 was discovered and re-erected along- side the new bridge. Along the shores of Deep Bay between Pak Nai and Tsim Bei Tsui a feeder road 4 miles long was con- structed. This road, connected at Lau Fau Shan to the feeder road from Ping Shan, serves a large area previously inaccessible to motor transport. On the main road round the New Territories a number of minor improvements to bends were completed and two bridges were reconstructed to Ministry of Transport loading re- quirements. In Kowloon the reconstruction of Nathan Road was carried a step further with the completion of a section 2,500 feet long at the southern end. Despite the many difficulties encountered in co-ordinating the works of the various utility companies the work was completed well ahead of schedule. As on Hong Kong Island, many secondary roads which were failing under the steadily increasing volume of traffic were reconstructed. Work on improving the main road to Kwun Tong continued and at Kwun Tong itself a number of new roads were constructed. The inland road between Kwun Tong and the new industrial and shipbuilding area at Yau Tong was completed.

The traffic engineering section of the roads office, in liaison with the police traffic branch, continued with its primary aim of providing for the safe and expeditious movement of pedestrian and vehicle traffic on the Colony's roads and streets. Many schemes for improvements were considered and implemented, with particular emphasis on road junctions. In the urban areas a com- prehensive programme of pedestrian crossings, guard-rails, im- proved carriageway markings and other safety devices was com- pleted. At unlighted bends on more than 20 miles of rural roads, self-wiping reflecting road studs were installed.

The improvement and extension of public street lighting con- tinued with the installation of 955 new lamps (254 on the Island, 503 in Kowloon and 198 in the New Territories). A feature of the street lighting in the New Territories was the introduction of high efficiency 200 watt linear sodium lamps along a section of the main arterial route linking Kowloon with Tsuen Wan. To relieve congestion in the urban areas extensive one-way street