RE: Switchover Bridge To Link China And Hong Kong

[McAndy]

Swoop-tastic! Unfortunately, I can see ~101 engineering reasons why it will not be built, but I do love a good concept now and again to stimulate the imagination!

[grumbledoak]

Seems thoroughly pointless. HK isn't 50km from the mainland, for starters, and the least of their worries are which side of the road to drive on, at rush hour the place is practically a car park.

No doubt it'll go ahead, vanity and ego being what they are.

[gazzapud]

Well all I can say is it all happening right outside of my front window ! What is also interesting is its going to be right next to the airport and the pilots association are complaining that some pilots may mistake the road for a runway..........

[andy400]

That's great! I designed a bridge to do just that, in an idle daydream moment during a maths lesson about twenty years ago. Never thought I'd see a real one!

[richbe]

Between China and Hongkong there is clearly plenty of money and space to allow this. I've always wondered how the concept of switching the side of the road on which you drive works for countries with huge land borders. Thailand for example, hardly surrounded by the most car populated of nations, but nonetheless Mynmar, Laos and Cambodia all drive on the RHS, when Thailand drives on the left. Border crossings must be fun!

[WEHGuy]

Richard A said:

Emeye said:

I disagree with the article - I love bridges. Sad I know ...

But how can it be 'sad' to be interested in civil engineering?

This is not a comment against you, Emeye, because like me you disagree with the idiot sub-heading "The first time it's likely you'll have got excited by a bridge". Why is it so wrong to be interested in stuff and why do journalists (yes, even motoring journalists) continue to play along with this attitude? Skilling ourselves up so that we push the envelope of technology and engineering is supposed to be the way this country survives in the global economy and yet, culturally, it's now uncool to be interested in anything other than whatever the global media organisations spoon onto our plates.

I couldn't agree more. The media promotes, it is cool to be a moron and makes these untalented nobodies famous so, other people aspire to be famous for the sake of it and having no real talent.

[WEHGuy]

croyde said:

Think we need a post pics of your favourite bridges thread.

Yes do one, unless there is already one?

[grahamw48]

Here are two Hongkong projects that I worked on.

[tylerama]

grahamw48 said:

Here are two Hongkong projects that I worked on.

Is that the Tsing Ma bridge ? Drove over it on the way back from Chek Lap Kok to Hung Hom, seriously impressive as is the multi storey car park for 44 ton trucks in the docks !

[grahamw48]

No, actually it's the Kap Shui Mun bridge, just a little further along towards the airport, but still special, as the railway runs through the middle of it, with the roadway above.

I was involved with laying the track bed.

Here is the bridge you're thinking of, and at the time of its construction it exceeded the length of the Humber Bridge by a metre or two.

Some of my friends worked on it, and I watched its progress over a period of months as I used to pass it each day on the ferry.

Witnessing the 480 ton modules being winched up a couple of hundred feet to the basic 'skeleton' above, from the deck of a barge was a truly amazing sight.

http://www.longest-bridges.com/tsing-ma-bridge.htm...