Following is a question by the Hon Eric Li Ka-cheung and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, at the Legislative Council meeting today (April 30) :
Question:
Regarding road excavation works carried out on the pavements along Nathan Road (Tsim Sha Tsui section) and King's Road, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the respective numbers of pavement sections on which such works were carried out last year;
(b) for each road during last year, of
(i) the respective numbers of days on which no such works were carried out;
(ii) the respective numbers of days on which more than five works items were carried out at the same time; and
(iii) the largest number of works items carried out at the same time on a single day; and
(c) if the answers to item (a) above indicate that fewer works items were carried out on the pavements along King's Road, whether it has assessed if the situation is attributable to the comprehensive resurfacing works carried out on the pavements of the road, and whether such an approach is more cost-effective?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) In 2002, there were around 146 and 270 road excavation works carried out on footpaths along Nathan Road (Tsim Sha Tsui Section) and King's Road respectively.
(b) For each of the road sections named above and during last year:
(i) the respective number of days when there was no excavation work along the footpath was 18 and 3;
(ii) the respective number of days when more than 5 excavation works had been taken place concurrently was 347 and 362 respectively; and
(iii) the maximum number of excavation works carried out concurrently along the same road section on a single day was 8 and 19 respectively.
(c) There were more road excavations along King's Road than in Nathan Road within the same period. This was mainly attributed to the complete reconstruction of footpath along King's Road. There are numerous underground utilities below the footpaths of King's Road. The majority of these utilities were laid long time ago and require frequent repair and upgrading. New services were also needed to satisfy increasing demands. As a result, the footpaths there have been opened up very frequently and this badly weakened the sub-base of the footpath rendering subsided spots all over the place. The complete reconstruction of footpath would strengthen the sub-base and replace the concrete footpath with more durable and aesthetically pleasing paving blocks. The reconstruction project gives an opportunity for all utility companies to upgrade their services in conjunction with the roadworks to cater for future development and this will reduce the demand for utility openings in the coming years. Complete reconstruction using paving blocks will reduce recurrent maintenance cost as the blocks can be re-used for future reinstatement of pavements.
End/Wednesday, April 30, 2003
NNNN