Nam Wan blasts through in HK

Gammon Construction in joint venture with Sweden's Skanska International has reached a key milestone on Hong Kong's Route 8 highway after blasting through on the 1.2km Nam Wan tunnel.

The twin 17m wide tunnels are being built through Tsing Yi island as part of a US$190M Highways Department contract awarded to Gammon-Skanska in early 2003. Gammon Construction is one of Hong Kong's largest contractors and is equally owned by Britain's Balfour Beatty and Jardine Matheson.

Speaking at a ceremony to commemorate the holing through at the end of February, Permanent Secretary for Works, Lo Yiu-ching, said the Nam Wan tunnel was holed through on time.

He said the link is one of three road tunnels that will be constructed as part of the 15km long Route 8 highway. The dual, three-lane expressway will run from Tsing Yi to Sha Tin to provide a faster link between Hong Kong airport, the Chinese border and Hong Kong's New Territories.

About 550,000m3 of rock was excavated and most will be reused in a reclamation project for the new Hong Kong Disneyland or processed into aggregates. Mr Lo said a 7.5m high noise barrier was built to minimise the impact on nearby road users and public, while continuous noise and vibration monitoring was carried out to make sure that the noise and vibration limits were not exceeded during tunnel blasting. Some 40 water sprinklers were installed on site for dust control.

The tunnel, together with the rest of Route 8, is due to be completed in May 2008. The scheme includes a ventilation building and substantial mechanical and electrical works. The tunnel has been designed by Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong, the local offshoot of the British engineering firm.