Many fear overpasses, some up to 41 metres high, will worsen pollution and cut property values Residents are up in arms over a proposal to build highway flyovers in Sha Tin, some as high as a 12-storey building. They say the flyovers will be an eyesore and aggravate pollution. 'These flyovers are ugly, tall structures that would no doubt cause pollution and cut property prices by at least 10 per cent,' said Li Yun-lam, a resident of Scenery Court, one of the residential buildings closest to the proposed overpass. 'Traffic noise would reach the higher storeys of buildings and polluted air would descend on the lower storeys. Basically, we would be fed dust.' The proposed T4 trunk road - to consist of a dual-lane overpass and a further overpass connecting the T3 trunk road now under construction - would run next to more than 100 residential buildings that contain an estimated 50,000 households. To be located between the Sha Tin section of Tai Po Road and Sha Tin Road, the elevated roads would tilt towards residential buildings. At least 600 households from various residential complexes have submitted petitions to district councillors or the government objecting to the project, which is designed to tackle existing and future traffic congestion. Many residents fear the overpass, which could be as high as 41 metres, will affect air circulation and create noise pollution. A consultation exercise had been conducted and ended on December 26. The controversy highlights the conflict facing the government as it tries to marry urban development and environmental protection. 'Without the T4 road, the traffic flow ... is expected to exceed its capacity by 2016, resulting in traffic congestion,' said a spokeswoman for the Civil Engineering and Development Department, which is in charge of the project. Sha Tin district councillor Wai Hing-cheung acknowledged that the proposed roads would help relieve traffic congestion, but supported residents' grievances about its environmental impact. 'The height of the flyovers is up to 12 storeys. That is absolutely striking,' he said. 'Because Sha Tin is a valley, people are worried that it will trap pollution in the lowlands and worsen air quality. And residents at lower levels will not be able to see the blue sky.' Elderly residents from some villages have also voiced concerns that the flyovers would create bad fung shui. 'We had a fung shui master investigate the impact,' said Chan Shui-cheung from Sha Tin Tau village. 'He said the flyovers straddling our village had the shape of a knife and would upset the fung shui. With something like that, no one would want to rent in our villages.' The department said an environmental assessment report on the project was approved in May and the report had suggested a range of 'mitigation measures', including noise barriers and retaining walls. The spokeswoman said the department would try to address residents' concerns 'as far as practicable'.