The government has announced that a flyover connecting the peninsula’s Areia Preta district and the Zone A land reclamation area – which lies off the north-eastern coast of the peninsula – will come into use on Wednesday.
The Public Works Bureau (DSOP) and the Transport Bureau (DSAT) made the announcement in a joint statement on Friday.
The one-way flyover runs – by crossing over the busy Oriental Pearl roundabout (Rotunda da Amizade) – from Avenida do Nordeste to Zone A, as well as to Avenida da Ponte da Amizade – the avenue leading to the Macau-Taipa Friendship Bridge, which means that vehicles entering the flyover from Avenida do Nordeste can choose to travel to either Zone A or Friendship Bridge.
According to the DSOP website, the flyover project had a price tag of 179 million patacas.
Currently, Zone A is connected to the peninsula by one link only, at the busy Oriental Pearl roundabout on the peninsula’s north-eastern coast. Vehicles travelling to and from the man-made island where the Macau and Zhuhai border checkpoints of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB) are located – which is situated east of the 1.38-square-kilometre Zone A – can currently only use this link.
Friday’s statement said that the Rotunda da Amizade flyover project, which got off the ground in March last year, has now been complected, adding that the flyover will open to traffic at 11 a.m. on Wednesday.
The statement noted that the flyover aims to ease traffic pressure at and around the busy Oriental Pearl roundabout with the objective of meeting the needs for Zone A’s urban development.
Spur roads A, B & C
According to the statement, the government’s whole flyover project of improving traffic flow between Zone A and the peninsula at the Oriental Pearl roundabout consists of two phases, comprising three spur roads, namely A, B and C.
The project’s first phase is a flyover comprising Spur A and Spur C that will open on Wednesday as its construction has been completed, while the project’s second phase is another flyover in the area, namely the project’s Spur B, according to the statement, which said that the project’s second phase will get off the ground soon.
After entering the one-way flyover from Avenida do Nordeste, drivers can choose Spur A that leads to Zone A or Spur C that leads to Avenida da Ponte da Amizade, according to the statement.
With the operation of the flyover, the statement noted, drivers will no longer need to use the busy Oriental Pearl roundabout when travelling from Avenida do Nordeste to either Zone A or Friendship Bridge.
Spur A and Spur C together have a total length of 830 metres, the statement said.
With the completion of the flyover comprising Spur A and Spur C, the statement said, the pile foundation work of the project’s second phase, namely the one-way Spur B running from Zone A to Avenida do Nordeste, will start in the near future.
The statement also said that although the project’s first phase had been adversely affected by the “618” outbreak, it has been completed around two weeks earlier than scheduled thanks to the efforts of the building contractor and other entities involved in the project.
The 618 outbreak refers to Macau’s previous COVID-19 outbreak that began on June 18 and started to subside in late July.
Zone A is primarily being developed for public housing projects, with only some plots earmarked for private residential projects. Eight public housing projects are currently being carried out there.
According to the DSOP website, the ongoing project to build the fourth Macau-Taipa Bridge that will connect the Zone A and Zone E1 land reclamation areas is slated to be completed in January 2024.
Friday’s statement also said that after the completion of the fourth Macau-Taipa Bridge project and various buildings in Zone A, the flyover comprising Spur A and Spur C can be expected to divert around 30 percent of vehicular flows using the Oriental Pearl roundabout.
4 vehicular links b/w Zone A & peninsula
The government’s ongoing public consultation on its draft urban development plan for “Eastern District 2” proposes that Zone A will have four vehicular links with the peninsula, namely A1, A2, A3, and AB.
Eastern District 2, which covers Zone A, is one of 18 “subareas for planning” listed by Macau’s urban master plan.
The 60-day public consultation, which started on October 7, will end on December 5.
The A1 Link refers to vehicular connection between Zone A and the Oriental Pearl roundabout on the peninsula’s north-eastern coast, i.e., the current and only link at the busy roundabout, as well as the flyover that will open on Wednesday and the upcoming flyover project there.
The A2 Link refers to a two-way flyover that will connect Zone A and near the Macau Peninsula Wastewater Treatment Plant. The A2 flyover project will get off the ground in the near future.
According to the draft urban development plan for Eastern District 2, the proposed A3 Link refers to a flyover that will connect Zone A and near the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal, while the proposed AB Link will connect Zone A and near the Macau Science Centre (MSC) in Nape. The government is still designing the A3 Link and AB Link.
In addition to the various proposed vehicular links connected to Zone A, the government will build a sea-crossing Light Rail Transit (LRT) section connecting the Barrier Gate checkpoint and the Taipa Ferry Terminal in Pac On via the Zone A and Zone E1 land reclamation areas. The section is officially known as East Line.
The government launched a public tender late last month for the LRT East Line project, the bidding period of which is running until around the middle of February next year. The government expects the LRT East Line project to be completed in 2028. Once the central government has given the local government the green light to lease a plot of land from Zhuhai, the LRT East Line can be extended to the Qingmao checkpoint near the Barrier Gate.
Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosário told lawmakers last month that with more and more housing projects and the construction of other facilities to get off the ground in the near future, Zone A will be like a “big and chaotic construction site”. Rosário also said last month that the government expects Zone A to become Macau’s “best” neighbourhood.
This undated handout photo released by the Public Works Bureau (DSOP) on Friday shows a recently-completed flyover running from Avenida do Nordeste to Zone A as well as to Avenida da Ponte da Amizade.
This undated handout photo provided by the Public Works Bureau on Friday shows the Rotunda da Amizade flyover’s Spur C that leads to Avenida da Ponte da Amizade – the avenue leading to the Macau-Taipa Friendship Bridge.
