Super Typhoon Mangkhut: engineer warns massive storm could put structural safety of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau mega bridge to test

Whether bridge can withstand destructive force of storm depends on height of waves at artificial islands, structural engineer Ngai Hok-yan says

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Concerns had previously been raised over the structural safety of the mega bridge. Photo: AP

Published: 10:15pm, 13 Sep 2018Updated: 8:33am, 14 Sep 2018

The structural safety of the multibillion-dollar Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge could be put to the test by a super typhoon predicted to be the most powerful in Hong Kong’s history, an engineering expert has warned.

That came as Super Typhoon Mangkhut edged ever closer to Hong Kong, prompting residents to take precautionary measures to safeguard their properties.

Predicted to be the most powerful storm since records began, with maximum sustained winds of up to 205km/h (127mph), the tropical cyclone is forecast to pass within 100km (62mph) of the city on Sunday morning.

Concerns had previously been raised over the structural safety of the city’s mega projects especially the bridge linking Hong Kong to Zhuhai and Macau as the main stretch was situated in the Pearl River Estuary’s Lingdingyang waters and prone to strong winds.

The 55km (34 mile) bridge, which is expected to open this year, reportedly has a design lifespan of 120 years and is built to resist wind speeds of up to 201km/h (125mph).

In April, interlocking concrete blocks placed around the edges of an artificial island – which connects the Hong Kong bridge section to a tunnel in mainland China waters – sparked safety fears as they appeared to have drifted.

One of the artificial islands for the mega bridge. Photo: Nora Tam

But the bridge authority later clarified the blocks, known as dolosse and which serve as protection against breaking waves, were specially designed to be submerged in a “random manner” to avoid exerting too much pressure on the undersea tunnel.

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Super Typhoon Mangkhut: engineer warns massive storm could put structural safety of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau mega bridge to test

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Whether bridge can withstand destructive force of storm depends on height of waves at artificial islands, structural engineer Ngai Hok-yan says

Whether bridge can withstand destructive force of storm depends on height of waves at artificial islands, structural engineer Ngai Hok-yan says