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China's president has opened the World's longest sea bridge. The giant infrastructure is 55km total, including 3 suspension bridges, a causeway, a 6.7km undersea tunnel between two artificial islands, and another 1km tunnel, all designed at great cost to resist the local typhoons and earthquakes. It links Macau and ZhuHai (Guangdong province) on one side of the Pearl River, to Hong-Kong new airport on the other.
President Xi Jinping opened the long-delayed and over-budget Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge on Tuesday, billed as a major step forward in China's plan to turn the Pearl River Delta into a technology hub to rival Silicon Valley.
But critics worry the 55km-long bridge connecting the mainland city of Zhuhai with the semi-autonomous territories of Hong Kong and Macau is as much about politics as it is business.
Hong-Kong independentists see the $2.2B investment as another sign of progressive assimilation into the mainland, with the 45 minute link replacing the 4-hour ferry commute.
China is stepping up initiatives to increase trade across the region and at home - the opening of the mega-bridge comes a month after a new high-speed rail link started carrying passengers from Hong Kong to the mainland.
Perhaps tellingly, cars will drive on the right on the 6-lane bridge, as in China, and switch to the left when entering Macau or HK.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday October 25 2018, @02:01AM (5 children)
Embarking/getting off is very likely a bottleneck, especially where the quay space is scarce. I can get imagine ferries waiting in a queue.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Thursday October 25 2018, @03:10AM (4 children)
I've taken ferries, longest was Washington state going from I don't remember where to Canada (Vancouver, I think). It was an hour long trip and I don't think we spent an hour waiting in line, getting on, nor getting off combined.
How many tanks/battalions can a ferry carry?
If I lived in Hong Kong and saw the restrictions on this bridge I wouldn't be measuring my low flow toilet in golf balls, I'd be measuring it in bricks.
My ducks are not in a row. I don't know where some of them are, and I'm pretty sure one of them is a turkey.
(Score: 3, Informative) by c0lo on Thursday October 25 2018, @04:14AM (3 children)
Well, I don't know from direct experience how the ferry waiting times play in HK.
A quick search brings up this [directferries.com.au] - with KH to Macau taking 1 hour of sailing.
If the 4 hours total travel time are for reals, it makes 3h for docking/embark/disembark - docking time in crowded ports may be longer and constricted service supply (like in "dock/peer space expensive as hell, can't afford a larger pier frontage") with a high demand may add some waiting time as well (if not booked in advance).
Here's another [tripadvisor.com.au]
Ah, the matter of crossing a border in a crowded place of the world managed by authoritarian regimes. The memories... aren't that pleasant.
I have this feeling that the "People's Liberation Army" wouldn't call in ferry contractors to get their forces across. But in the absence of a bridge, an amphibious approach is required and it will be slower
How does your translation of "Hong-Kong independentists see the $2.2B investment as another sign of progressive assimilation into the mainland" in "size of the shit chunks units" sounds? :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 25 2018, @12:31PM (2 children)
A couple of well placed explosives, or a ship at full speed would probably take care of an advancing army quickly
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday October 25 2018, @03:41PM (1 child)
If you think is likely $2.2B of an investment stays defenceless after being built under an authoritarian regime, I have a $2.2B new and marvellous bridge to sell you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 25 2018, @04:47PM
This thing is how many kilometers? Protecting all of that all the time will be quite an undertaking.