Hong Kong Link Road to be completely connected in April

The 12km-long road has been fraught with difficulties.

The 12km-long Hong Kong Link Road of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge will be completely connected in April, the Highways Department announced.

The department said this signifies a key milestone for the project. The casting of all tunnel box segments in the link road’s Scenic Hill Tunnel has been completed, with the last part of the segment being jacked to its final position underneath the Airport Express Line.

The link road connects the Main Bridge on the Mainland and the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities.\

To build the link road in close proximity to the Hong Kong International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the world, the department has faced difficulties during planning and construction.

Due to the airport height restrictions, viaduct construction in areas adjacent to the south runway had to be done at night when the runway was closed.

Sophisticated height detection equipment was installed to ensure construction was done within the height limits.

For the construction of the Scenic Hill Tunnel, four construction methods were adopted to tackle complex ground conditions and topographical constraints.

They included the drill and blast method through the Scenic Hill, and the mined tunnel method underneath the Airport Road section.

The department said the road surfacing as well as road facility installation projects for the link road, and the works for the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities are ongoing. The department added the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong section will be ready for commissioning by the end of this year.