More ferries and tougher ship height restrictions: Hong Kong lawmakers aim to prevent Lantau Link transport chaos repeat

Ferry services should be enhanced and height restrictions tightened on ships passing bridges to Lantau to avoid a repeat of Friday’s traffic chaos, said legislators who voted down an alternative route to the island 13 years ago.

The only road and rail connection to Hong Kong International Airport – the Lantau Link – was closed down on Friday after a barge hit the Kap Shui Mun Bridge, prompting the link’s closure and more than two hours of transport chaos.

The government has a contingency plan, which involves calling up ferries to take commuters from Tsuen Wan to Tung Chung.

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But the closure – the first time since the airport was opened at Chek Lap Kok in 1998 – raised questions about alternative routes to the island in an emergency.

In 2002, the government proposed building a second land link – between Yuen Long and North Lantau – under the “Route 10” project, but it was defeated in the Legislative Council.

Pan-democratic lawmaker Cyd Ho Sau-lan, who voted against the project 13 years ago, today said she would still oppose another link to Lantau.

“An accident happened only once in 18 years,” she said.