2.1
History
of Previous Studies
As discussed in
Section 1.1, the need
for increased traffic capacity on the east-west road links across central
Kowloon, particularly for coping with the new developments on its western and
eastern sides, has been recognized for a number of years.
The feasibility of upgrading existing east-west road links was
investigated, but it was found that the environmental, traffic and land
resumption impacts would not be desirable. As an alternative, the West Kowloon
Reclamation Traffic Study (WKRTS) in 1990 proposed that a route, mainly in
tunnel, be developed to link the West Kowloon Highway in West Kowloon
Reclamation with the future highway system on the Kai Tak Development
(previously known as South East Kowloon Development). This route became known
as the Central Kowloon Route (CKR).
The proposed alignment of CKR has evolved through a number of studies,
aimed at minimizing the land resumption/clearance and disruption to the public.
Previous CKR studies on the alignment options can be dated back to 1991, 1995
and 1999 under the “Central Kowloon Route Study”, “Central Kowloon Route -
Study on Alternatives” and engineering review of “Design and Construction
Assignment for Central Kowloon Route” respectively. According
to the “Legislative Council Panel on
Transport Central Kowloon Route Progress Report [LC Paper No.
CB(1)1494/07-08(02)] dated 16 May 2008”
(http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr07-08/english/panels/tp/papers/tp0516cb1-1494-2-e.pdf), there
had been more than 40 alignment options considered under the previous studies,
including tunnel and flyover options covering most of Kowloon Peninsula as far
north as Boundary Street and across the harbour around the southern tip of Tsim Sha Tsui. All these studies
had concluded that a tunnel (as opposed to flyover) option across central
Kowloon (as opposed to northern or southern Kowloon) would be preferable.
Following a review of the traffic forecasts in early 2002, a dual 3-lane
tunnel configuration has now been adopted to meet future traffic demand.
The investigation consultancy CE 58/2006 (HY) had reviewed all the
previous studies and affirmed that a tunnel option across central Kowloon would
be preferable after considering the geometric design, traffic implications,
environmental impacts, land impacts and construction cost. Alternative
alignments considered at that study are presented in Section 2.3.
CKR is now a proposed a dual 3-lane trunk road, mainly in the form of
tunnel, across the Kowloon peninsula linking the West Kowloon Reclamation in
the west and the proposed Kai Tak Development in the east. It will connect the
West Kowloon Highway at Yau Ma Tei Interchange to the proposed Trunk Road T2 at
Kai Tak Development and Tseung Kwan O – Lam Tin Tunnel to form the strategic highway
link Route 6 to serve the existing and planned developments in West Kowloon,
East Kowloon and Tseung Kwan O.
With the implementation of CKR, it would relieve the vehicular traffic
loading on the existing urban distributor roads across the Kowloon peninsula,
including Boundary Street, Prince Edward Road, Argyle Street, Waterloo Road,
Chatham Road North and Gascoigne Road Flyover. A summary of the key elements of
the proposed alignment is given below.
Table 2.1: Overview of Key Elements of the Proposed Alignment
|
Location |
Design |
Approximate Length (m)[1] |
|
West Portion |
Elevated / At-Grade Road |
200 |
|
Depressed Road |
200 |
|
|
Cut-and-Cover Tunnel |
400 |
|
|
Central
Portion |
Drill-and-Blast Tunnel |
2760 |
|
East Portion |
Cut-and-Cover
Tunnel |
210 |
|
Underwater
Tunnel |
370 |
|
|
Underpass/Depressed
Road |
320 |
|
|
Elevated/At-Grade Road |
320 |
[1] Only CKR mainline has been measured.
2.2.1
Public Engagement
Activities at Investigation Stage
Since 2007, several rounds of public engagement
activities have been conducted to collect views on:
i)
Selection of the
preferred alignment;
ii)
Yau Ma Tei urban
design;
iii)
Conservation and
revitalization of Yau Ma Tei Police Station;
iv)
Ma Tau Kok
waterfront urban design;
v)
Construction of
the CKR section at Kowloon Bay; and
vi)
Reprovisioning facilities and
enhancement opportunities as well as construction works in Yau Ma Tei and
Kowloon City.
These includes
a total of six public forums, two outreach events, briefing sessions for statutory and advisory boards/committees, and focus group meetings with
local organizations, concerned groups and professional bodies. A dedicated web-site
(www.ckr-hyd.hk) has been set up by the project proponent to provide information of the
project and public consultations that have gone through. A summary of
the public events and activities is shown in the following Table 2.2:
Table 2.2: Summary of the public events and activities at investigation stage
|
District |
Public Forums |
Outreach Events |
Consultation with District Councils |
Consultation with Legislative Council Transport Panel |
|
Yau Tsim Mong |
4 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
Kowloon City |
2 |
- |
2 |
|
|
Kwun Tong |
- |
- |
2 |
2.2.2
Summary of Public
Comments Received
As a
result of the public engagement activities conducted at Investigation Stage,
general consensus was reached on the preferred alignment of CKR. However, some of the consultees
concerned that if the operation of CKR would generate additional air and noise
pollution. The public opined that
mitigation measures should be adopted to remove pollutants/harmful gases from
the exhaust from the ventilation buildings and minimize noise resulting from
the operation of the CKR itself as well as the ventilation system. In addition, some indicated that the
ventilation buildings should locate far away from residential developments to
allow a better dispersion of tunnel exhaust and avoid threatening the community
health.
Environmental
impacts arising from the construction works of CKR are also of public
concerns. While most of the consultees realized that possible adverse environmental
impacts arising from the construction works were inevitable, they opined that
appropriate mitigation measures should be adopted to minimize air and noise
pollution resulting from the construction phase. For the temporary reclamation in Kowloon Bay
to the north of To Kwa Wan Typhoon Shelter, some consultees
showed concern about the adverse environmental impacts on air, noise, water
quality and odour, as well as the ecological impacts.
In April
2008, findings of the public engagement activities were presented to the Kwun Tong
District Council, Kowloon City District Council and the Yau Tsim
Mong District Council. In May 2008, the Legislative Council Panel on
Transport was further consulted. They were all supportive of the project and
the preferred alignment (see Section 2.3 and Section 2.4 on the
alternative alignments considered).
2.3
Selection
of Preferred Alignment Option in West Portion
As
discussed in Section
2.1, a number of alignment options have been exhaustively considered during
the design developments. The general
preferred criteria of the alignment options are that, firstly they should
connect to West Kowloon Highway at the already constructed connecting points at
the Yau Ma Tei Interchange, secondly they should be mainly in the form of a
tunnel and thirdly they should avoid affecting private properties or public
facilities, such as Yau Ma Tei Police Station, Yau Ma Tei Jockey Club
Polyclinic, to the maximum extent, if possible.
For the west portion, the previous
Investigation Study had consolidated the preliminary findings and developed 14
preliminary alignment options which was then narrowed down to a total of 5
options for evaluation. These 5
alignment options are shown in Figure 2.1.
|
Description |
|
|
CKR01 |
This option enters into a side-by-side
cut-and-cover tunnel on the north side of Kansu Street, which affects the old
and new wings of the Yau Ma Tei Police Station and the Yau Ma Tei Specialist
Clinic Extension. The alignment then enters into a twin-bored tunnel on the
west side of Nathan Road, and passes below the MTR lines. 1.
Encroach into old and new wings – need underpinning of old wing and
new wing 2.
Additional time for underpinning: 10 months 3.
Risk of potential damages to police station old and new wings is
higher than CKR03 4.
No private buildings affected |
|
CKR02 |
This option is based on CKR01, except that the alignment has been
shifted southwards such that the side-by-side cut-and-cover tunnel avoids the
old and new wings of the Police Station, but not the Specialist Clinic
Extension building. However, by doing so, the tunnel affects the buildings on
the south side of Kansu Street. 1.
Avoid police station old and new wings 2.
Encroach into CLP Substation, Dickson Building and Tak Cheong Building
– infeasible to be underpinned due to their heavy weights 3.
CLP Substation is to serve the major west Kowloon areas. The relocation
of substation requires details planning that may last for long period of time
(about 8 to 10 years). Therefore, the relocation of CLP Substation is not
practicable. |
|
CKR03 |
This option is also based on CKR01, except that the alignment has been
shifted less southwards than CKR02 such that the side-by-side cut-and-cover
tunnel avoids the old wing of the Police Station and the residential
buildings at the south side of Kansu Street. However, this option still
affects the new wing of the Police Station and the Specialist Clinic
Extension building. 1.
Encroach into 1/3 of new wing – need underpinning 2.
Avoid CLP Substation and private buildings 3.
Additional time for underpinning: 7 months |
|
CKR05 |
This option comprises a double-deck cut-and-cover tunnel along Kansu
Street. This arrangement avoids the buildings on the south side of Kansu
Street as well as the old and new wings of the Police Station, but not the
Specialist Clinic Extension building, on the north side of Kansu Street.
However, this option requires relatively deep excavation and a relatively
steep vertical alignment for the bottom deck. 1.
Avoid police station old and new wings 2.
No private building affected 3. Gradient of lower deck is 9%, which is highly undesirable in terms of
traffic performance and safety 4.
Engineering comparatively more difficult for deeper excavation. |
|
CKR07 |
This option comprises a side-by-side elevated structure along Waterloo
Road, across Nathan Road, with the road entering into twin-bored tunnel on
the east side of Nathan Road. The elevated structure would pass very close to
numerous private residential buildings, and would impact directly on some of
the buildings. It would also need to traverse the West Kowloon Corridor. 1.
Avoid police station and Government buildings at Kansu Street 2. Flyover too close to residential buildings where 4.5m clearance for
fire rescue requirement cannot be provided 3.
Affected buildings · YMT Ambulance Depot, YMT Fire Station and over 10 nos. of private buildings (total floor area 55,500m2) without adequate clearance for fire rescue, including Wah Tak Building, Kam Tong
Building, 238-244 Reclamation Street, Ming Sun Mansion, Wai Luen Building, Shun Ho Lau, Wing Tak Building, Bell
House, 8 Waterloo Tower 1, Kam Fai Building, Lai Kee Mansion and Jade Mansion etc. · By shifting the alignment northwards to keep 4.5m clearance for YMT
Ambulance Depot and YMT Fire Station: around 10 nos. of residential buildings, including Wah Tak Building, Kam Tong Building, 238-244 Reclamation Street, Ming Sun
Mansion, Wai Luen Building, Shun Ho Lau, Wing Tak
Building and Bell House etc. are required to be demolished · By shifting the alignment southwards to keep 4.5m clearance for
residential buildings: YMT Ambulance Depot, YMT Fire Station and new
residential building “Tower 1 of 8 Waterloo Road” etc. are required to be demolished 4.
Flyover will be constructed partially above the Fruit Market, previous
YMT Cinema and YMT Shelter. Adequate vertical clearance will be provided for
fire rescue purpose. 5.
Lutheran Secondary School need demolition |
Environmental
considerations for the alignment options in West Portion
The environmental considerations for
the preliminary alignment options have been compared and presented in Table 2.3 below.
Table 2.3: Summary
of environmental considerations of alignment options at the west portion
|
Alignment Options |
Design |
Environmental Benefits |
Environmental Disbenefits |
|
CKR01 |
C&C Tunnel
under Kansu Street |
Air Quality & Noise · Tunnel option
would reduce air quality and noise impact during operational stage,
especially for the residents along the alignment in Yau Ma Tei. Landscape and Visual · Tunnel option
would have negligible visual impact during operational stage, especially for
the residents along the alignment in Yau Ma Tei. · Major parks have
been avoided. Waste · No impacts on
electric substation which is a potential source of land contamination. |
Air Quality & Noise · Some air quality
and noise impacts on the residents along Ferry Street and Kansu Street during
the cut-and-cover tunnel construction. Landscape and Visual · Some visual
impacts to the residents along Ferry Street and Kansu Street during
construction of the cut-and-cover tunnel. · Some landscape
impacts to trees and open spaces during construction and operation of west
portion. Waste · Generation of
excavated materials from cut-and-cover tunnel. · Generation of demolition
materials from buildings such as Specialist Clinic Extension buildings, YMT
Carpark Building and Kowloon Government Office. Heritage · Higher risk of
potential damages to the old wing of YMT Police Station. |
|
CKR02 |
C&C Tunnel
under Kansu Street |
Air Quality & Noise · Tunnel option
would reduce air quality and noise impact during operational stage,
especially for the residents along the alignment in Yau Ma Tei. Landscape and Visual · Tunnel option would
have negligible visual impact during operational stage, especially for the
residents along the alignment in Yau Ma Tei. · Major parks have
been avoided. Heritage · Avoid
encroachment onto the old wing of YMT Police Station. |
Air Quality & Noise · Some air quality
and noise impacts on the residents along Ferry Street and Kansu Street during
the cut-and-cover tunnel construction. Landscape and Visual · Some visual
impacts to the residents along Ferry Street and Kansu Street during
construction of the cut-and-cover tunnel. · Some landscape
impacts to trees and open spaces during construction and operation of west
portion. Waste · Generation of
excavated materials from cut-and-cover tunnel options. · Generation of
demolition materials from buildings such as Specialist Clinic Extension
buildings, YMT Carpark Building, Kowloon Government Office and 400kV
Substation. · Electric
substation may be a potential contaminated site. |
|
CKR03 |
C&C Tunnel
under Kansu Street |
Air Quality & Noise · Tunnel option would
reduce air quality and noise impact during operational stage, especially for
the residents along the alignment in Yau Ma Tei. Landscape and Visual · Tunnel option
would have negligible visual impact during operational stage, especially for the
residents along the alignment in Yau Ma Tei. · Major parks have
been avoided. Heritage · Avoid
encroachment onto the old wing of YMT Police Station. Waste · No impacts on
electric substation which is a potential source of land contamination. |
Air Quality & Noise · Some air quality
and noise impacts to the residents along Ferry Street and Kansu Street during
construction of the cut-and-cover tunnel. Landscape and Visual · Some visual
impacts to the residents along Ferry Street and Kansu Street during
construction of the cut-and-cover tunnel. · Some landscape
impacts to trees and open spaces during construction and operation of west
portion. Waste · Generation of
excavated materials from cut-and-cover tunnel options. · Generation of
demolition materials from buildings such as Specialist Clinic Extension
buildings, YMT Carpark Building and Kowloon Government Office. |
|
CKR05 |
C&C Tunnel
under Kansu Street |
Air Quality & Noise · Tunnel option
would reduce air quality and noise impact during operational stage, especially
for the residents along the alignment in Yau Ma Tei. Landscape and Visual · Tunnel option
would have negligible visual impact during operational stage, especially for
the residents along the alignment in Yau Ma Tei. · Major parks have
been avoided. Heritage · Avoid
encroachment onto the old wing of YMT Police Station. Waste ·
No impacts on electric substation which is a
potential source of land contamination. |
Air Quality & Noise · Some air quality and
noise impacts to the residents along Ferry Street and Kansu Street during
construction of the cut-and-cover tunnel. Landscape and Visual · Some visual
impacts to the residents along Ferry Street and Kansu Street during
construction of the cut-and-cover tunnel. · Some landscape
impacts to trees and open spaces during construction and operation of west
portion. Waste · Generation of
excavated materials from cut-and-cover tunnel options. · Generation of
demolition materials from buildings such as Specialist Clinic Extension
buildings, YMT Carpark Building and Kowloon Government Office. |
|
CKR07 |
Flyover along
Waterloo Road |
Landscape and Visual · Major parks have
been avoided. Heritage · Avoid
encroachment onto the old wing of YMT Police Station. Waste · No impacts on
electric substation which is a potential source of land contamination. |
Air Quality & Noise · Noise impact on
the residents of the private residential buildings along Waterloo Road during
construction. · Higher noise and air
quality impacts on the residents of the buildings located on both sides of
the elevated structure along Waterloo Road during the operational stage;
noise barriers may be required to reduce noise levels. · Air ventilation
below the flyover deck is less favourable as the flyover deck will cover most
of the Waterloo Road. Landscape and Visual · Higher visual
impact on the residents of the private residential buildings along Waterloo
Road during construction. · Flyover induces
more significant visual impacts on the environment during operational stage. · Some landscape
impacts to trees and open spaces during construction and operation of west
portion. Waste · Generate more
demolition waste due to requiring more demolition works to the affected
buildings along Waterloo Road. |
2.3.2
Selection
of Preferred Alignment
All the key
environmental considerations for the alignment options, such as air quality,
noise, landscape and visual, cultural heritage and waste, have been considered.
None of the alignment option has significant environmental advantages over the
others. Hence, the preferred alignment was selected based on other
perspectives.
On
selecting the preferred alignment option during Investigation Study, due
regards have been paid to the views of the public and relevant government
departments. All of the alignment
options, including Options CKR01, CKR02, CKR03, CKR05 and CKR07, were discussed
at a public forum, published in the project newsletters and posted on the
dedicate web-site for the project. Through these public engagement activities, a
general consensus of the public was reached that Alignment Option CKR03 is the
preferred alignment option at the west portion of the route. HyD consulted the Kwun Tong DC’s T&TC,
Kowloon City DC’s T&TC and Yau Tsim Mong DC on 8 April 2008, 10 April 2008 and 24 April 2008
respectively and the Panel on Transport of the Legislative Council on 16 May
2008 . They were supportive of the
preferred alignment.
In general, the alignment (i.e.
Option CKR03) in the west portion is adopted for the following reasons:
·
The
alignment will avoid the old wing of the Yau Ma Tei Police Station on the north
side of Kansu Street and also avoids the old residential buildings on the south
side of Kansu Street.
·
The
alignment avoids any impact on private land in this area. In addition the
vertical alignment is developed so as to pass under the MTRC Tsuen Wan Line and Kwun Tong Line Extension tunnels.
·
The
side-by-side cut-and-cover tunnel construction is found to be the most engineering
feasible of the options considered with a relatively low depth and reasonable
construction area.
Detailed assessments of the preferred
Alignment Option CKR03 are given in
Chapters 4 - 12.
The
interchange of the CKR with the West Kowloon Highway and the local road network
at Yau Ma Tei is arranged to provide the most comprehensive connectivity
possible within this confined area. The
layout of the slip roads is also configured to avoid existing, under construction
and future proposed developments, with only localised modifications of existing
roads and other infrastructure.
2.4
Selection of Preferred Alignment Option in East Portion
A total
of 5 alignment options at the east portion of CKR route has been developed and
evaluated. 4 of these options included a section of underwater tunnel at To Kwa
Wan. The alignment options are shown in Figure 2.2 (Options A to E). The description of these options
is summarised below:
|
Alignment Option |
Description |
|
Option A |
This
is a land-based option, which avoids the need for temporary reclamation. It
comprises a drill-and-blast tunnel section which runs underneath the existing
buildings at To Kwa Wan with adequate rock cover until it reaches Sung Wong
Toi Road. The
cut-and-cover tunnel section can only start after Sung Wong Toi Road in order
to avoid affecting a large number of private buildings. However, there are
insurmountable problems that make this alignment unfeasible, which are listed
as follow: · Due to the road level of CKR tunnel at Sung Wong
Toi Road being very low
and the
necessity to match with the road level of the road network at Kowloon Bay and
Trunk Road T2, the road gradient has to be 18%, which is unacceptable in
terms of highway performance and road safety. ·
The depressed road section will conflict with the
proposed multi-purpose stadium complex at Kai Tak Development. Alternatively,
if the CKR tunnel is designed to acceptable maximum road gradient for highway
performance, the cut-and-cover tunnel will start in the To Kwa Wan area near
Pak Tai Street, Pau Chung Street or Kowloon City Road depending on the
sub-options studied. This alignment requires land resumption of private
building as cut-and-cover tunnel will affect at least 60 numbers of buildings
in To Kwa Wan area. |
|
Option B |
This
alignment includes a relatively short section of cut-and-cover tunnel and
thus involves the
minimal land requirement which requires no resumption of private
buildings. However,
temporary re-provisioning of the public transport interchange at Kowloon City
Ferry Pier is required. This option also requires the temporary
re-provisioning of Ma Tau Kok Public Pier as well as the relocation of ferry services
at Kowloon City Ferry Pier from the North berth to the South berth (currently
unused). Underwater tunnel will start from
the existing shoreline near to the Kowloon City Ferry Pier and extend to the
Kai Tak Runway. Apart from Option A, Option B has the shortest
length of underwater tunnel among other options that pass under Kowloon Bay
and thus generates the minimum disruption on marine activity and
environmental aspects. Also, this option will not affect any existing
buildings. |
|
Option C |
The alignment runs along Chi Kiang
Street at the east side. The cut-and-cover tunnel will start from Kowloon
City Road and thus conflict with the existing buildings along both side of
Chi Kiang Street. Underwater tunnel will start from the existing shoreline
near to Hoi Sham Park to the Kai Tak Runway. This alignment requires land
resumption of private buildings as the cut-and-cover tunnel will affect about
9 numbers of existing buildings along both sides of Chi Kiang Street. The
cut-and-cover tunnel will also affect Hoi Sham Park. |
|
Option D |
This alignment runs along Bailey
Street. The cut-and-cover tunnel will start between Ma Tau Wai Road and Sung
On Street and conflict with the existing buildings along both sides of Bailey
Street. Underwater tunnel will then start from the existing shoreline and
extend to the Kai Tak Runway. This alignment requires land resumption of
private buildings as the cut-and-cover tunnel will affect about 7 numbers of
existing buildings along both sides of Bailey Street. |
|
Option E |
This alignment runs along Fat Kwong Street and Man Yue
Street. Although this option allow bored tunnel under the existing buildings
along both sides of Man Yue Street, it may still
affect Harbour Centre Tower 2 when the bored tunnel connects to the
underwater tunnel. This alignment requires land resumption of private
buildings as the cut-and-cover tunnel will affect about 1 number of existing
building and the pier next to Harbour Centre Tower 2. |
Options C, D and E include
relatively long sections of cut-and-cover tunnel at Chi Kiang Street, Bailey
Street and near Fat Kwong Street respectively which
all require significant resumption of private buildings. In addition, these
options also require longer lengths of underwater tunnel under Kowloon Bay. The
lengths of the underwater tunnel for the five options are listed in Table 2.4 below for comparison:
Table 2.4: Length
of Underwater Tunnel Section
|
Alignment
Option |
Length of
Underwater Tunnel (m) |
|
Option A |
No underwater tunnel |
|
Option B |
370 |
|
Option C |
810 |
|
Option D |
925 |
|
Option E |
1100 |
Environmental considerations for the alignment
options in East Portion
The
environmental considerations for the preliminary alignment options have been compared
and presented in Table 2.5 below.
Table 2.5: Summary of environmental considerations of
alignment options at the east portion
|
Alignment Options |
Design |
Environmental Benefits |
Environmental Disbenefits |
|
Option A |
Drill-and-Blast Tunnel |
Air Quality &
Noise ·
Tunnel option would reduce air quality and noise
impact during operational stage. Landscape and
Visual ·
Tunnel option would reduce landscape and visual impact
during operational stage. Sediment, Water Quality
& Odour ·
Avoid the need for
temporary reclamation and the associated odour nuisance as well as impacts of
water quality and excavated sediment to be disposed of. Ecology ·
No encroachment onto any
site of conservation importance. |
Air Quality &
Noise ·
Significant air quality and noise impacts to the
residents in Ma Tau Kok during construction of the cut-and-cover tunnel. Landscape and
Visual ·
Significant landscape and visual impacts to the residents
in Ma Tau Kok during construction of the cut-and-cover tunnel. Waste ·
Longest length of bored tunnel plus cut-and-cover
tunnel; hence generation of the greatest amount of excavated materials. ·
Longest length of cut-and-cover tunnel; hence
generation of more significant amount of demolition materials from buildings
such as Jubilant Place, On Ning Building, Wacker
Industrial Building and various buildings in Lung To Street, Fung Yi Street, Luk Ming Street, Lun Cheung
Street, Ying Yeung Street & Pang Ching Street
etc. |
|
Option B |
Underwater Tunnel |
Air Quality &
Noise ·
Tunnel option would reduce air quality and noise
impact during operational stage. Landscape and
Visual ·
Tunnel option would reduce landscape and visual impact
during operational stage. Sediment, Water Quality
& Odour ·
Shortest length of
underwater tunnel; hence less sediment to be disposed and less water quality
impact to the harbour and odour nuisance. Waste ·
Shortest length of cut-and-cover tunnel and avoid encroachment to
private buildings; hence less excavated and demolition materials generated. Ecology ·
No encroachment onto any
site of conservation importance. |
Air Quality &
Noise ·
Some air quality and noise
impacts during construction of temporary reclamation. Landscape and
Visual ·
Some landscape and visual impacts during
construction of temporary reclamation. |
|
Option C |
Underwater Tunnel |
Air Quality &
Noise ·
Tunnel option would reduce air quality and noise
impact during operational stage. Landscape and
Visual ·
Tunnel option would reduce landscape and visual
impact during operational stage. Ecology ·
No encroachment onto any
site of conservation importance. |
Air Quality &
Noise ·
Significant air quality and
noise impacts during construction of temporary reclamation. Landscape and
Visual ·
Significant landscape and visual impacts during
construction of temporary reclamation. Sediment, Water Quality & Odour ·
Longer length of underwater tunnel than Option B; hence
generation of greater amount of excavated sediment from construction of temporary
reclamation and the associated water quality impact to the harbour and odour
nuisance. Waste ·
Generation of significant excavated and demolition materials
from buildings along Chi Kiang Street. |
|
Option D |
Underwater Tunnel |
Air Quality &
Noise ·
Tunnel option would reduce air quality and noise
impact during operational stage. Landscape and
Visual ·
Tunnel option would reduce landscape and visual
impact during operational stage. Ecology ·
No encroachment onto any
site of conservation importance. |
Air Quality &
Noise ·
Significant air quality
and noise impacts during construction of temporary reclamation. Landscape and
Visual ·
Significant landscape and visual impacts during
construction of temporary reclamation. Sediment, Water Quality & Odour ·
Second longest length of underwater tunnel; hence
generation of significant amount of excavated sediment from construction of temporary
reclamation and the associated water quality impact to the harbour and odour
nuisance. Waste ·
Generation of significant excavated and demolition
materials from buildings along Bailey Street. |
|
Option E |
Underwater Tunnel |
Air Quality &
Noise ·
Tunnel option would reduce air quality and noise
impact during operational stage. Landscape and
Visual ·
Tunnel option would reduce landscape and visual
impact during operational stage. Ecology ·
No encroachment onto any
site of conservation importance. |
Air Quality &
Noise ·
Significant air quality
and noise impacts during construction of temporary reclamation. Landscape and
Visual ·
Significant landscape and visual impacts during
construction of temporary reclamation. Sediment, Water Quality & Odour ·
Longest length of underwater tunnel; hence
generation the greatest amount of excavated sediment from construction of temporary
reclamation and the associated water quality impact to the harbour and odour
nuisance. Waste ·
Generation of excavated and demolition materials
from buildings such as Harbour Centre. |
2.4.2
Selection
of Preferred Alignment
On
selecting the preferred alignment option during the previous Investigation Study
stage, in which the alignment is being fine tuned in the current Design and
Construction stage, due regards have been paid to the views of the public and
relevant government departments. All of the alignment options, including
Option A, B, C, D and E, were discussed at the public forums, published in the
project newsletters and posted on the dedicate web-site for the project.
Throughout the public engagement activities, a general consensus of the
public was reached that Alignment Option B is the preferred alignment option at
the east portion of the route. Cogent and Convincing Materials for
Temporary Reclamation in Kowloon Bay has been prepared for the purpose of
supporting this alignment complying with the Protection of the Harbour
Ordinance.
In general,
the alignment (i.e. Option B) in the east portion is adopted for the following
reasons:
·
Inland
Alignment Option A had been considered to avoid the need for temporary
reclamation by providing an inland alignment option. The inland tunnel will
need to run underneath the existing buildings at To Kwa Wan and clearly this
would clash with the foundations of existing high-rise buildings. The buildings
would require resumption and complete or partial demolition to facilitate the
cut-cover tunnel construction of the in-land alignment option. In addition, the
depressed road section to the east would conflict with the proposed
multi-purpose stadium complex at Kai Tak Development. Therefore, it is not a
reasonable alternative due to the need of large scale resumption and demolition
of existing buildings.
·
For
the study of the feasibility of Marine Alignment Options B to E, some existing
buildings will inevitably be affected. It was considered most important
that the length of the underwater tunnel should to be kept as short as possible
to minimize the extent of temporary reclamation and minimize the disturbance to
the public/marine facilities and the environment during construction. Marine
Alignment Option B was identified as the most preferred option as it requires
the smallest extent of temporary reclamation as compared with Marine Alignment
Options C, D and E. Option B would therefore generate the least amount of
excavated sediment to be disposed of and would have the least water quality
impact to the surrounding waters among other Marine Alignment Options.
The
eastern end of CKR connects to Kai Tak Interchange and its slip roads leading
to Kowloon Bay, Kwun Tong and Kai Tak Development, making it convenient to
travel between these roads and West Kowloon. Vehicles can also make use
of the road network in the Kai Tak Development to reach various destinations at
the South Apron, North Apron and Runway of Kai Tak Development including the
Cruise Terminal. The design of Kai Tak Interchange has taken into account the
planned pedestrian linkage at Kai Tak and match with the theme of Kai Tak
Development and Energize Kowloon East.
Detailed assessments of the preferred Alignment
Option B are given in
Chapters 4 - 12.
2.5
Selection
of Preferred Alignment Option for Central Portion
The
alignment of the central portion of CKR, between the above preferred options at
the west and east portions (Figure 2.2),
was selected mainly on tunnel engineering considerations with the consideration
as listed below:
·
At
the point of Nathan Road, the alignment and orientation of CKR are constrained
by the existing Yau Ma Tei Police Station and Alhambra Building.
·
As
from geological review, the bedrock level in To Kwa Wan area is relatively low
at -20mPD. However, the bedrock level in
the Kowloon City Ferry Pier PTI area to Ma Tau Wai Road is relatively higher
(-20.0mpD to +2.0mpD) that allow the use of the drill-and-blast tunnel method
for tunnel construction. It dictates the location of CKR at Ma Tau Wai
Road. In geological consideration, the
rock head level along the adopted alignment is relatively high. Therefore, the
alignment can pass through strong Grade III or above fine-to-medium grained
granite with sufficient bedrock cover to the tunnel. Having a sufficient
bedrock cover to tunnel can increase the excavation stability and reduce the
geotechnical risk. In addition, the weak compressible soil, such as marine
deposit, is not found from the superficial layer, which can reduce the
settlement problem.
·
With
the consideration of the constraints at the west and east of the
drill-&-blast tunnel (at Nathan Road and Ma Tau Wai Road) and also take
into account of the horizontal alignment design, the central bored tunnel
section has to pass underneath Ho Man Tin West Fresh Water Service Reservoir,
Ma Tau Wai Service Reservoir and Ho Man Tin High Level Salt Water Service
Reservoir.
CKR
will pass under a mainly urban environment. As such, it was important to select
an alignment, which both follows the most favourable geological conditions for
drill-and-blast tunnelling and maximises the rock cover above the tunnel. The
selected alignment passes underneath the hills of Kings Park and Ho Man Tin.
These areas not only have the advantage of greater rock cover but also have a
lower building density than the surrounding low-lying areas. The preferred
alignment of the bored tunnel section also maximises the actual length of bored
tunnel, and thereby minimise the length of cut-and-cover tunnel.
In
terms of the impacts on private land, the adopted alignment will have the least
adverse effect on this aspect.
2.6
Selection of the Proposed Alignment
As
discussed in Section 2.3 to Section 2.5, a number of alignment options have
been considered for the west, east and central portions. These options have
been evaluated by considering a number of factors including engineering, public
comments, environmental factors etc. The preferred alignment for each portion
has been recommended and Figure 1.1
shows the entire preferred alignment. Figure 2.3
shows the longitudinal profile of CKR.
2.7
Justification
on the Locations of Ventilation Buildings
For
such a length of dual 3-lanes road tunnel, a total of 3 ventilation buildings
(VB) are required for efficient extraction of vehicle pollutants inside the
tunnel. These VBs not only accommodate with normal tunnel ventilation
systems, an advanced technology, Air Purification System (APS), would be
installed inside each VB with the air inside the tunnel passing through the APS
before discharge to the atmosphere. Due considerations have been taken into
account in identifying the possible locations for these VBs.
The following Table 2.6
summarize the justifications on the VB locations.
Table 2.6: Justifications on the ventilation building
locations
|
Ventilation Building |
Justification on the selection of locations |
|
Ventilation Building at Yau Ma Tei Interchange |
The location for
the ventilation building adopted in previous Investigation Stage was located near
Ferry Street. A number of opinions from the stakeholders had expressed
concern on the location of this option. Hence, the location of this
ventilation building has been revisited and it has been moved towards the
west and away from residential uses as much as practicable. This
currently proposed location is nearby Lin Cheung Road and West Kowloon
Highway at Yau Ma Tei Interchange has been identified as feasible. The
nearest resident development is located at more than 300m away and this would
optimize the dispersion of ventilation building emission. |
|
Ventilation Building at Ho Man Tin |
Given the length
of the tunnel, a ventilation building at the approximate midway of the tunnel
would be required to even out the exhaust at the 3 buildings, and hence a
ventilation building is required at Ho Man Tin. The area has a number of
important infrastructure / public facilities, such as service reservoirs, that cannot be relocated / abandoned for the
purpose of situating the ventilation building. The proposed ventilation
building is located at the junction of Fat Kwong
Street and Chung Hau Street, and above the proposed
bored tunnels such as to facilitate the construction of the ventilation adit together with the construction access shaft. The
site is at high level where is ideal for dispersion. It is the only site
available since there is no other available / suitable government land in the
close vicinity. |
|
Ventilation Building at Kai Tak Development |
The proposed
ventilation building and administration building is located at Kai Tak and
south to the Kai Tak tunnel portal. This site and the surrounding areas are
currently vacated and will be occupied subject to future redevelopment
projects under Kai Tak Development. Under the current OZP, the site has
been designated for the proposed CKR ventilation and administration building.
It should be noted that this ventilation building is located at Kai Tak and
hence is further away from the existing residential areas in Ma Tau Kok which
is separated by no less than 1200m. In fact, the OZP of Kai Tak has
accommodated a separation distance of ~180m from the planned residential
developments in Kai Tak. |