Highways Department completes the structural inspection of Sham Tseng Viaduct of Tuen Mun Road
Regarding media enquiries about a piece of concrete fallen from Sham Tseng Viaduct of Tuen Mun Road, the Highways Department (HyD) today (November 15) responded as follows:
After a piece of concrete had fallen from Sham Tseng Viaduct of Tuen Mun Road on the night of November 13, the HyD inspected the bridge structure immediately. The preliminary professional inspection revealed that a piece of shallow surface concrete with an area of less than 1 square metre spalled from a bridge pier crosshead and fell onto Sham Hong Road Playground underneath the bridge. The incident did not affect the structural safety of the bridge.
The HyD and its consultants carried out a further inspection of the relevant part of the bridge structure this early morning, including the use of a bridge inspection vehicle (i.e. an engineering truck equipped with an extendable arm specifically designed for the inspection of large bridges) by lowering its extendable arm to the underside of the bridge for the engineering personnel to undertake close visual inspection of the structural components at the bridge soffit and to carry out hammer tests.
The HyD completed the inspection at around 3am this morning and removed the surface concrete that might likely spall off near the damaged area to ensure public safety. Most of the area of Sham Hong Road Playground was then reopened with only a small area near the bridge pier currently closed to facilitate the repair works.
The HyD has instructed the consultants and contractor to complete the repair of damaged concrete surface of the bridge soffit as soon as possible. The HyD will keep on monitoring the condition of the concerned bridge section to ensure road safety.
Ends/Sunday, November 15, 2015