A new bridge in southern China will officially open on
Wednesday morning local time. It will shave more than two hours off the trip
from Hong Kong to Zhuhai on the mainland. The result of nearly nine years of
construction, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge project even includes a tunnel
in its 34 miles across the Pearl River Delta.
The bridge will carry six lanes of traffic — and
drivers will have the novel experience of going underwater in two spots, where
artificial islands were created to house openings for a four-mile tunnel.
It will be 55 km long and is the world's longest sea bridge. Estimates of its
final cost range as high as $20 billion.
Construction on the project started in December 2009.
Since then, it has repeatedly hit delays, accidents and budget overruns.
Deadlines for the bridge's opening were put off in both 2016 and 2017.
The bridge will avoid hours of traffic along the coast
of the Greater Bay Area and its planners hope the new connection boosts
economic ties in a region that includes Hong Kong, Macau and cities in
Guangdong Province.
China's Xinhua news agency says the area is "home
to more people than the entire U.K., has three of the biggest container ports
in the world, and a larger GDP than Australia."
That economic activity and infrastructure is the main
reason the project's designers opted to take the roadway underwater. They were
looking to solve two important complications. Part of the bridge crosses two shipping
lanes and passes next to Hong Kong International Airport.
Officials pledged to protect Chinese white dolphins
that live in the delta.
The finished product contains enough steel to build 60
Eiffel Towers and enough concrete to construct 22 Chrysler Buildings. It can withstand
strong earthquakes and super typhoons.
To use the bridge, private
cars will need special permits that have been tightly controlled, Toll prices
for vehicles using the bridge will range from 60 yuan (about $8.50) to 300 yuan
(about $43).
Chinese media outlets are reporting that the bridge is
built to last more than a century.
While there is genuine
excitement about the bridge from shipping and transportation companies, people
in Hong Kong have mixed feelings about it. Many have questions about how useful
the bridge will be, and there are concerns that China's central government
might use the bridge as another way to weaken Hong Kong's independence.
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