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SCMP Reporter

An escalator linking King's Road and Fortress Hill Road went into service yesterday.

The government-funded HK$20 million project, which has two lifts, a 30-metre uphill escalator and a staircase, began operating after eight months of testing.

The two lifts have been installed to make life easier for the disabled.

The Highways Department said the lifts could carry 1,600 people an hour, while the escalator had a maximum capacity of 9,000 people an hour.

Eastern District councillor Frankie Lo Wing-kwan  said completion of the project would be a huge benefit to people  living in the upper areas of Fortress Hill.

He quoted a Transport Department estimate that 12,000 to 14,000 people would use the facilities each day.

'Residents living along Fortress Hill Road and Tin Hau Temple Road will be the first to benefit. There are also several secondary schools in Braemar Hill and the students can get down to King's Road easily.'

Wong Kwong-cheung, a senior engineer at the Highways Department, said the project had taken shape  over  two years and they had had to make careful calculations, as the escalator was built on a slope.

He said a downward escalator had not been provided because of a lack of space.

One resident, Mrs Man, 60, said the escalator would save her time and money as she previously had to take a bus to upper areas before the escalator opened.

'It is a lot more convenient,' she said.



Fortress Hill residents get a welcome lift