It appears depressingly more obvious that the bridge across the Pearl River is being planned without a railway component. And that's a tragedy. It means the vast infrastructural asset will be a crippled entity. Without a two-line railway integrated into the structure, the bridge will be like a one-legged high-jumper; try as it might, it will not be capable of top performance.
China will be calling the tune on bridge design; 70 per cent of the bridge is going to be built on mainland real estate.
But Hong Kong must have a persuasive voice in how the bridge is planned, built and financed. Above all, our government must play an active role in arguing forcefully that the bridge incorporates a rail link.
There have been ominous signs from China's top officials that they envisage only a road bridge. Hopefully, China's transport and trade agencies, as well as businessmen, will now lay out the compelling arguments for a railway.
The logic is simple and obvious. Let's take the basic situation. A major bridge from north Lantau to Macau and Zhuhai will carry at least four lanes, and probably six, of road traffic. Engineers say the project is technically simple. The bridge will stride 42km across the estuary on sturdy concrete piles. The water is shallow, about five metres on average. But there is a solid 50-metre layer of silt laid down over millions of years; pre-cast concrete piles will have to be driven through to the bedrock.
A flat deck will be laid on top of these rows of piles and the roadway will be built on top.
Construction experts say adding a railway to this configuration would be both simple and cost effective. Another row of piles would have to be laid and the deck widened to accommodate two railway lines in addition to the six road lanes. No problem, they say.
