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SCMP Reporter

After months of uncertainty, the two ends of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Bridge were joined yesterday and it is expected to be open by the end of the year.

The 5.5km  bridge spanning Shenzhen Bay will become an important link between the western part of Guangdong and Hong Kong.

Shenzhen Mayor Xu Zongheng, who led the bridge-joining ceremony with Secretary for Environment, Transport and Works Sarah Liao Sau-tung, hailed it as an important step towards economic integration.

The bridge will link Yuen Long with Shekou. Travelling time from Shenzhen Airport to Hong Kong could be cut by at least half an hour when the bridge opens.

It will also help ease traffic congestion in Shenzhen. Vehicles from Guangzhou, Zhuhai and Foshan  will be able to travel to Hong Kong via the bridge without entering the crowded Futian and Lowu districts.

The bridge was proposed by the Shenzhen government in 1991 and approved by the central government in 1997. It has been funded by the Hong Kong and Shenzhen governments.

The joining of the two ends yesterday was a relief for authorities on both sides as construction had been hit by difficulties. Foundation work was suspended briefly in 2004 amid accusations of negligence after the contractor ran into a piling problem.

The contractor said it could not drive posts into the ground below the waterline to support the structure because of an unexpected layer of mud and sand deep beneath the seabed.

But a Shenzhen government worker yesterday said they had successfully solved the technical problem, and hailed the construction of the bridge as an engineering achievement.



HK, Shenzhen bridge the gap