One belt, one road, one bridge: The 55km Hong Kong-Zhuhai bridge is one of China's most ambitious engineering projects. Photo / VCG, Getty Images
One belt, one road, one bridge: The 55km Hong Kong-Zhuhai bridge is one of China's most ambitious engineering projects. Photo / VCG, Getty Images
Riding the high speed ferry from Hong Kong to Macau in April this year ,it was hard to ignore the shadow of the superstructure towering over the busy shipping lane. The Hong Kong to Zhuhai Bridge is one of the largest civil construction projects ever undertaken by the People's Republic of China.
Poster child of the "One Belt, One Road" project the opening of this one bridge marks the completion of the "one ring-road" to rule them all.
Soon it will be possible to drive between Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China.
However, plagued by delays and structural problems, not all the residents of the Zhujiang Estuary welcome the colossal road bridge. Concerns have been expressed that it's an attempt to bring the autonomous regions of Macau and Hong Kong closer to the fold of Mainland China.
Road trip: Drivers could soon drive from China's autonomous regions of Hong Kong to Macau. Photo / Getty Images
As I asked my hosts in Macau as to when the bridge was opening, it was very hard to get a concrete answer.
With many false starts and delays already, President Xi declared it finally open yesterday to a crowd of 700 attendees - many will only consider the bridge only truly open after they've driven over it themselves.
Whether for or against the bridge, there's no denying it's an incredible piece of work. Here's what we know so far:
It's taken just nine years to build.
Construction of the 55km bridge started on the 15th December, 2009. Nine years on, it seems the project might be drawing to an end. It has been built far too quickly to be included in most atlases. Toggling between Google Maps and satellite, the bridge and its artificial islands appear as if from nowhere.
Macau's 'phantom island' appears on recent satellite photos. Source / Google
It cost $20bn
As a showpiece for Chinese civil engineering, the architects and builders were practically given a blank cheque to complete the Zhuhai Bridge. The final price tag is around $20bn, though that doesn't account for the lifetime cost and maintenance.
However the building has come at a cost - twenty lives of workers were lost during construction and there was an unknown price to sea life in the gulf.
According to the Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society, numbers of wild porpoises in the gulf have fallen by 40 per cent since project started.
Open up: The bridge emerges from a tunnel beneath the Zhujiang Estuary. Photo / VCG, Getty Images
It's half bridge, half tunnel
The Zhujiang Estuary is one of the busiest shipping channels in the world. To accommodate the 'Ultra Large Container Vessels' and cargo ships which carry the world's wares to and from South China, 10 kilometres of the road link are housed in a tunnel on the sea bed.
There's still work to be done
Even before any cars had managed to drive across it there were already signs of wear and tear. In April this year, the South China Morning Post captured video of the concrete footings that protect the artificial islands washing away.
Not just anyone can drive down the newly opened bridge.
Before taking on the journey, drivers must pass an extremely high "selective criteria". Currently it is only open to drivers with mainland government positions.
Private cars must be given a special permit to enter.
The lack of parking was also a concern for Macau locals. Already the most densely populated city on the planet, the Macaunese worry there simply won't be enough space on the roads. Then there is the added problem that drivers in Mainland China and Hong Kong both drive on opposite sides of the road - Macau and Hong Kong favour left hand drive.
When finally open, it will be mostly used by private coaches and buses, though for the time being there are no public transport links allowed to use the bridge.
At least the few drivers allowed to make the crossing can be guaranteed a clear run, free of any traffic whatsoever.
