LCQ18: Trunk Road T2 and Cha Kwo Ling Tunnel
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Question:
In October last year, the Finance Committee of this Council granted funding approval for the construction of the Trunk Road T2 and Cha Kwo Ling (CKL) Tunnel to connect the Tseung Kwan O-Lam Tin Tunnel and the Central Kowloon Route to form Route 6. The infrastructure project is expected to be completed in 2026. It is expected that the traffic load in Kowloon East will be relieved upon the commissioning of the entire Route 6. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has assessed in detail any factors that may cause delay to the completion of the aforesaid project, and formulated the relevant contingency plans; if so, of the details;
(2) given that a section of the Trunk Road T2 is adjacent to the New Acute Hospital (NAH) in the Kai Tak Development (KTD) which is projected to be completed in 2024, and if the Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) is unable to expeditiously complete that part of the works which may generate higher levels of noise and vibration, the CEDD will need to adopt additional mitigation measures to avoid any impact on the sensitive medical equipment in and the normal operation of NAH during construction, whether, according to the Government's current estimation, the relevant mitigation measures need to be adopted; if so, of the additional expenditure and construction time involved; and
(3) whether it has reserved sufficient space at the Trunk Road T2 and CKL Tunnel for constructing public transport interchanges and road links to connect with important places including NAH and Hong Kong Children's Hospital in KTD in order to divert traffic and bring convenience to members of the public; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether it will give any consideration to it?
Reply:
President,
The construction works of Trunk Road T2 and Cha Kwo Ling Tunnel commenced last November immediately upon the funding approval by the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council last October. The works mainly comprise the construction of a dual two-lane trunk road of approximately 3.4 kilometres (km) long, with about 3.1 km in the form of a tunnel.
My reply to the various parts of the Hon Wong Kwok-kin's question is as follows:
(1) The Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) has already conducted a detailed site investigation during the detailed design stage of the Trunk Road T2 and Cha Kwo Ling Tunnel project to collect geotechnical and geological data, especially the levels and properties of the rocks along the alignment of the tunnel. This will enable the Department to have a better grasp of the geological condition of the sites along the alignment, which will form the basis for the assessment of time required for the construction works. In accordance with contractual requirements, the contractor is carrying out additional geological drilling for its construction proposal, so as to enhance control over the actual construction process and timeframe. Judging from the current progress, we expect that the construction works of Trunk Road T2 and Cha Kwo Ling Tunnel will be completed in 2026.
(2) Currently, the parts of construction works of Trunk Road T2 which may generate higher levels of noise and vibration (such as soil supporting and excavation works) are being carried out in tandem with the construction of the New Acute Hospital (NAH) in the vicinity. Given the current progress, we anticipate that such works will be completed before the completion of the NAH. The CEDD will continue to closely monitor the progress of construction.
(3) Trunk Road T2 and Cha Kwo Ling Tunnel will form part of Route 6. As a whole, Route 6 provides an important road link from West Kowloon to Tseung Kwan O (TKO) New Town with intermediate interchanges at Kai Tak and Lam Tin (see Figure). Eastbound traffic from West Kowloon will be able to use Kai Tak Interchange to access the Kai Tak Development (KTD) directly, whereas westbound traffic from TKO will be able to use Lam Tin Interchange to access the KTD via the Kwun Tong Bypass.
Upon the completion of Trunk Road T2 and Cha Kwo Ling Tunnel, Route 6 will be fully commissioned. It will divert existing traffic between East Kowloon and West Kowloon, so as to ease traffic in Kowloon Bay District and Kwun Tong District. With smoother traffic flow, it will facilitate vehicular access to the Hong Kong Children's Hospital and the NAH to be completed in future in the KTD via the road networks in the two districts (including Kwun Tong Bypass).
In addition, the CEDD is currently constructing Road D3 (Metro Park Section) along the western part of the former runway area of Kai Tak with a view to connecting Shing Kai Road with Shing Fung Road, which links to the Hong Kong Children's Hospital and the NAH to be completed in future. With the construction works of the new road scheduled for completion in 2022, it will further improve the transport infrastructure of KTD.
Ends/Wednesday, June 17, 2020
Issued at HKT 14:45
Issued at HKT 14:45
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