Ap Lei Chau Bridge

Ap Lei Chau Bridge is a highway bridge in Hong Kong connecting the island of Ap Lei Chau (Aberdeen Island) to the community of Aberdeen on Hong Kong Island.

Ap Lei Chau Bridge 鴨脷洲大橋
Ap Lei Chau Bridge viewed from the north. Jumbo Kingdom is visible underneath the central span and Ocean Park in the distance.
Coordinates	22.245877°N 114.159704°E
Carries	Vehicles, pedestrians
Crosses	Aberdeen Channel
Locale	Ap Lei Chau and Aberdeen, Hong Kong
Characteristics
Design	Box girder bridge
Total length	230 m (750 ft)
Clearance below	14 m (46 ft)
History
Construction start	1977 (first bridge)
Construction cost	HK$64,000,000
Opened	28 March 1980 (first bridge) 28 July 1994 (duplicate bridge)
Statistics
Toll	Free of charge
Location

Ap Lei Chau Bridge
Traditional Chinese	鴨脷洲大橋
Transcriptions Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Aap leih jāu daaih kìuh Jyutping Aap3 lei6 zau1 daai6 kiu4

First bridge

Completed in April 1977, the first bridge had one lane of traffic in each direction. It is a double-cantilever, prestressed-concrete bridge, with a 115 metres (377 ft) main span, two 60 metres (200 ft) side spans, and associated ramps. Maunsell & Partners were the bridge consultants.[1]

Peter Hines, first bridge, 1970s, Senior Resident Engineer. Renowned for identifying the design fault that the two bridge cantilevers would not meet in the middle of the bridge!!! His analysis saved months of work and much money.[1]

During the bridge building, the Senior Resident Engineer Peter Hines identified a problem:

My boss was initially not willing to accept my analysis that the cantilevers will not meet in the middle of the bridge. A design engineer was brought from Australia for six weeks to design an "emergency raise" to solve the problem.[1]

Second bridge

Construction of the twin Second Ap Lei Chau Bridge on the north side of the first bridge was started in May 1991 and completed in July 1994 to provide two traffic lanes in each direction.[2][3] Both sides of the bridge have pavements for pedestrian use.

Legislators approved funding for the Second Ap Lei Chau Bridge on 1 May 1991.[4] It opened on 28 July 1994.[5] The first person to drive across it was Kwong Hon-sang, Director of Highways, officiating at the opening ceremony.[5]

The two bridges are Ap Lei Chau's only road links with Hong Kong Island. There is a railway bridge, the Aberdeen Channel Bridge, opened on 28 December 2016 as part of the MTR's South Island line.

See also

• Aberdeen Typhoon Shelters

References

1. Beanz means Hines / Peter Hines — the worldwide civil engineer ISBN 978-1-71-456394-4 page 14.
2. 景點 [Attractions] (in Chinese). Apleichau Promotion of Tourism Association. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
3. "Roads in Hong Kong Island". Hong Kong Highways Department. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
4. Lau, Jeremy (7 March 1992). "Go-ahead for bridge plan". South China Morning Post. p. 5.
5. Ball, Steve (27 July 1994). "New bridge prepares to take the strain". South China Morning Post. p. 3.