During the time when the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA) consulted the public on new public housing developments in the Sham Shui Po district, many suggestions were received for a footbridge link between two of the public housing developments under planning i.e. Hoi Ying Estate and Hoi Tat Estate, which would not only enhance the accessibility of the community and transport facilities in these two estates, but also facilitate the public to access to the Cheung Sha Wan Waterfront. After conducting series of feasibility studies, HKHA designed a long span footbridge of about 145m long and 6m wide, spanning across the West Kowloon Highway and Lin Cheung Road to connect Hoi Tat Estate and Hoi Ying Estate. Its tied arch and warren truss design overcomes the constraint of its long span without intermediate support. Currently, it is the pedestrian footbridge with the longest span in the public housing estates.
To reduce number of closures of the West Kowloon Highway and Lin Cheung Road, and to enhance construction safety, the HKHA design team and the contractor came up with an innovative construction method - by assembling the two halves of the footbridge with vertical support by temporary launching towers at each side of Hoi Ying Estate and Hoi Tat Estate, followed by lowering for connection in the middle (see the connecting joint as demarcated on footbridge deck). To this, Building Information Modeling and 3D Laser Scanning had been adopted to control each construction stage in enhanced level of precision.
The launching and connection of the footbridge required temporary and full closure of relevant sections of Lin Cheung Road and West Kowloon Highway in the midnight of 29 December 2019. With the collaboration of various government departments, the operation was completed smoothly overnight and the highway was re-opened thereafter. And with the concerted effort of the project team, the contractor and relevant government departments, the construction of the long span footbridge was successfully completed and opened for public use on 13 August 2021.
This covered long span footbridge connects the Sham Shui Po Leisure & Cultural Building at Hoi Tat Estate and the lift tower at Hoi Ying Estate. Residents can commute between the two estates conveniently with weather protection to enjoy various community facilities, as well as accessing to the Cheung Sha Wan district centre. We hope the footbridge could enhance the connectivity of the area so that Hoi Tat Estate, Hoi Ying Estate and other public housing developments in the vicinity can form a new and vibrant community.
