Massive modern bridges connect various points of Hong Kong's coastline. The enormous Tsing Ma Bridge, which towers over the Kap Shui Mun channel to link the city with Chek Lap Kok airport, is the most immediately recognisable example.
Along with the Ting Kau and Stonecutters bridges, Tsing Ma seamlessly connects Hong Kong's international airport and the city they were designed to serve. Another soaring bridge across Deep Bay links the northwest New Territories and Shenzhen, which further consolidates links between Hong Kong and its hinterland.
Controversial from the time it was first discussed, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge across the Pearl River estuary is finally under construction on the Hong Kong side, after lengthy judicial delays. The decision to go ahead with this enormous project was confirmed by the State Council, and site formation work on the western side of the delta has been completed for a couple of years.
One stretch of water that still remains bridgeless, however, is Victoria Harbour's main fairway. In the early 1950s, it seemed probable that Hong Kong would eventually get a cross-harbour bridge. After the end of China's civil war, and the massive influx of refugees from the mainland in the late 40s, the local population soared. From about a million in 1946, there were 2.5 million people living in the colony by the mid-50s.
As a result, annually increasing volumes of traffic made a reliable all-weather link between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon imperative. In 1955 a working party was set up to explore the feasibility of a bridge or tunnel to connect both sides of the harbour. Engineering reports in 1961 recommended a bridge as it would be cheaper to build and maintain.
In 1963, however, the Hong Kong government agreed, in principle, to a cross-harbour tunnel. Victoria City Development, a subsidiary of Wheelock Marden, was appointed to handle the project, and, in 1965, the Cross Harbour Tunnel Company was formed. Wheelock Marden chairman John Marden and Hutchison International taipan Douglas Clague were appointed as alternate chairmen.