The Long Span Footbridge connecting Hoi Ying Estate and Hoi Tat Estate designed and built by the Housing Department (HD) has recently won the Overall Best Award 2021 organised by the Association of Consulting Engineers of Hong Kong (ACEHK), in recognition of HD’s excellence and innovation in architectural and engineering design.

The project team of the HD had overcome various construction difficulties and site constraints during the design and construction stages. The footbridge spans over the West Kowloon Highway and Lin Cheung Road with 16 lanes as well as MTR Corporation’s Tung Chung Line, Airport Express Line and West Rail Line. Adopting an inclined tie-arch system, the bridge is 37 metres high, 145 metres long, with its main span measured 111 metres. The aesthetic design makes it an iconic bridge in the district. Environment-friendly features, such as the application of glazed skylight and vertical greening, enhance natural lighting and ventilation of the bridge, helping to reduce energy consumption.

An innovative construction method was adopted for the first time to resolve the technical difficulties and minimise the impact on the public transport system. The main arches were erected vertically at Hoi Ying Estate and Hoi Tat Estate. By using strand cables, both arches were lowered simultaneously from temporary supporting towers and finally connected in the mid-air. The project team also adopted Building Information Modelling and three-dimensional Laser Scanning technology to simulate and assess the structural and aesthetic performance of the bridge before it was erected, so as to reduce design and construction conflicts. Regular monitoring at different construction stages succeeded in saving the cost and time.