Hong Kong will be seeking new bids from consultants next year for a replacement to the planned US$1.1bn dual three-lane Route 7, around the western coastline of Hong Kong Island between Western and Aberdeen.
Engineering consultants will be invited to bid for a feasibility study and preliminary design for a highway, most of which will be built in tunnel.
Officials denied that the new road, known as the Pokfulam-Kennedy Town link road, has been proposed in the face of massive public opposition to the Route 7 project. A Transport Bureau source said the change in plans follow an internal review and is not linked to lower than estimated traffic projections forecast due to a separate proposal for a rail link.
The successful consultancy will review existing Route 7 documents and assess options for a tunnel under the landmark, Mount Davis, which overlooks the western approaches to Hong Kong harbour. The tunnel will connect Kennedy Town and Sandy Bay.
Consultants will also consider a second tunnel or partially buried road between Sandy Bay and Telegraph Bay, near the high-technology development, Cyberport.
The Transport Bureau said: "The new study will review previous studies and also look at other alignments to minimise reclamation." Detailed planning and engineering are likely to take up to two years to complete with construction due to start in 2005-06.
