Imagine a 50-storey high tower of gravel and mud with a base the size of Victoria Park. That's roughly the initial estimate for the landfill needed to build the sea wall for the proposed road linking Tuen Mun and Chek Lap Kok airport.
The dredging alone would require 170 daily vessel trips - and while this may have been acceptable decades ago, concern over marine habitats and the welfare of Chinese white dolphins in the vicinity meant another solution was needed.
The road will form part of the high-speed transport network girding the Pearl River Delta, a major infrastructure project that includes the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and new Boundary Crossing Facility (BCF) in Hong Kong.
While some might argue the construction of the high-speed road network is not itself environmentally friendly, the engineers and contractors behind the project have made significant strides in mitigating the impact that the works will have on the marine life around Lantau and northwest New Territories.
For instance, one innovative solution has been found for the building of the seawall to support the reclamation required for the road and the BCF.
'The conventional method would be a dredged sea wall,' says Albert Liu, chief engineer at the bridge's project management office.
