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Written by: Huang Weilun
2021-03-01 18:07
Last update date: 2021-03-01 18:07
The government gazetted the construction of the T4 trunk road in 2006, but it was opposed by residents at the time, and the plan was eventually shelved.
Fifteen years later, the Civil Engineering and Development Department stated that it was conducting surveys and studies on the project. It plans to gazette in the first half of this year and apply for funding from the Legislative Council in 2023. The detailed construction timetable is still to be reviewed.
According to the project brief submitted by the Department in 2019, if construction starts in 2023, the trunk road is expected to be opened in 2028. It is expected that motorists travelling between Ma On Shan and Tsing Sha Highway and Shing Mun Tunnel Road will not need to pass through the roads in the urban area of Sha Tin. Save driving time and ease road traffic in Sha Tin area.
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According to the information, the government planned the trunk road T4 as a part of the road network in Sha Tin as early as the late 1970s. Later, some highways have reserved junctions for the roads to connect to the trunk road T4, such as Sha Tin. Tsing Sha Highway, Sha Tin Road near Tseng Tai Uk Road, and Shing Mun Tunnel Highway near Weijing Garden, but because the flyovers have been idle for too long, some of them have been idle for more than 30 years, they were criticized by the Office of the Ombudsman.
Information provided by Transport Department, Highways Department and Land Development Department
In fact, when the new town in Sha Tin District was planned in the 1990s, the population was expected to increase rapidly. By 2002, the environmental impact assessment study of the project had been announced, and the construction was gazetted later in 2006.
However, the plan at that time received more than 800 objections. As a result, the plan was not adopted. The Sha Tin District Council also withdrew its support for the project. By 2009, the District Council stated that it did not support the project, and the project was eventually shelved.
Reports at the time stated that residents were worried that the project would damage the landscape, affect property prices and cause pollution.
However, in 2016, a consultancy study conducted by the Land Development Department reassessed the traffic situation in Sha Tin. It was believed that Trunk Road T4 could alleviate traffic congestion in Sha Tin, and proposed improvements to avoid felling or transplanting old trees, changing the alignment, and finally The proposal was supported by the District Council in 2018.
The Land Development Department replied to "Hong Kong 01" today (March 1), stating that it is investigating and studying the T4 trunk road. It plans to gazette in the first half of this year, and plans to apply for funding from the Legislative Council in 2023, and then start the project as soon as possible.
The department stated that it will review the comments received and complete the road design as soon as possible to establish the relevant construction budget. The current detailed construction timetable and construction budget are still to be reviewed.
However, according to the previous project schedule, such as construction in 2023, it can be commissioned in 2028.
Tentative date of the project of the Land Development Department in 2019
Check the brief introduction of the project of the Land Development Department in 2019. The latest project includes a main road connecting the Shing Mun Tunnel Road and Tsing Sha Road in the northwest with Sha Tin Road in the southeast. The total length is about 2.6 kilometers. It is a two-way two-lane road. .
Compared with the old plan, the eastbound elevated road is now moved away from Weijing Garden, to avoid felling or transplanting old and famous trees along Songling Road, and the proposed elevated road near Shatiantou Village is modified to be lower than the ground Roads and road tunnels.
According to the Land Development Department, after the opening of the T4 trunk road, motorists can use Ma On Shan Road/Tate’s Cairn Road/Sha Lek Road/Sha Tin Road to travel between Ma On Shan and Tsing Sha Roads and Shing Mun Tunnel Road without passing through Sha Tin’s urban area. It is expected to save driving time and ease the road traffic in Sha Tin district.
Rong Mingzhou (second from right) said that if the trunk road No. T4 is no longer built, it may cause "disastrous" effects (photograph by Wu Zhuan)
The Land Development Department's document also stated that the current traffic between Ma On Shan and Tsuen Wan/West Kowloon needs to pass through Tai Po Highway (Sha Tin Section) and other roads in Sha Tin.
The Chairman of the Traffic and Transport Committee of the Shatin District Council, Rong Mingzhou, said that vehicles passing through the Sha Tin section of Tai Po Road, including those travelling to and from Tai Po District and North District, cause congestion from time to time.
He believes that the trunk road T4 can indeed help divert traffic and relieve congestion. However, when new houses in Maanshan and 14 townships will be settled in the future, he believes that "the end is over (T4 trunk road), and then it will be blocked again." Let's study other ways to relieve traffic jams.
Rong Mingzhou said that at present he does not know the residents' views on the new plan in detail, but he described that if it is no longer built, it may cause "catastrophic" effects and the roads in Sha Tin will become more congested.
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