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Macao to Build New Cross-Sea Bridge Linking Macao Peninsula, Taipa
Public bidding and preparatory work on the third bridge linking Macao peninsula up with Taipa island will start this year, a high official with Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) government said.
The preliminary feasibility studies on the bridge have been completed, and the project is "orderly under way according to a timetable", the Macao Daily News Thursday quoted Ao Man Long, secretary for transportation and public projects of the Macao SAR government, as saying.
The new bridge will be built between the western parts of Macao peninsula and Taipa island with a length of no more than 1.2 kilometers, at a cost of 200 million to 300 million patacas (25 million to 37.5 million US dollars). It will open to traffic around the clock.
According to Ao, the largest difference between the third bridge and the current ones is that the new bridge has two floors; the lower floor will be shut down usually and open to traffic only when typhoon hits Macao.
The Macao peninsula and Taipa island were linked up for the first time by a two-lane bridge in 1974, which greatly boosted the development of the island.
In the 1980s, the booming local economy made the bridge difficult to undertake mounting traffic. The pressure of transportation was alleviated to a great extent in 1994 when the second cross-sea bridge was completed.
Taipa island now accommodates an international airport, a university, a large stadium, a horse-racing ground, three casinos, and many residential quarters, restaurants and tourist attractions.
Along with growing numbers of residents and vehicles in Taipa, serious congestion often occurs in rush hours, particularly on the old Macao-Taipa bridge.
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