The fourth Macau-Taipa bridge has been fully connected after constructors completed joining its southern main span on Tuesday night.
The Public Works Bureau (DSOP) made the announcement in a statement yesterday.
Tuesday night’s completion of connecting the bridge’s southern main span came after constructors completed linking its northern main span early last month.
The completion of connecting the fourth Macau-Taipa bridge’s two main spans means that the bridge has now been fully linked up.
The government has said that the fourth Macau-Taipa bridge project is now scheduled to be completed in the next quarter.
Yesterday’s statement said that the completion of connecting the bridge’s entire section shows that the project has now entered the stage of setting up the bridge’s various auxiliary structures after the main structure’s completion.
According to the statement, the project’s constructors will now carry out various other works such as the bridge deck’s anti-corrosion work, waterproofing and asphalt paving, as well as the installation of bridge fences, wind protection barriers and electromechanical systems.
The statement underlined that since the fourth Macau-Taipa bridge project got off the ground on March 26, 2020, the construction of its main structure had been affected by various adverse factors making it difficult for constructors to carry out their work, such as adverse weather, the complexity of geological conditions, restrictions implemented for air-navigation safety, as well as the implementation of COVID-19 curbs aiming to bring community outbreaks under control during the three-year pandemic between early 2020 and late 2022.
The government has said that the bridge’s wind protection barriers will enable it to remain open to traffic even during Typhoon Signal No. 8.
The statement said that the completion of connecting the bridge’s entire section now marks an “important phased milestone” for the project.
The 3,085-metre-long bridge will have eight vehicular lanes – four in each direction. One lane in each direction will be for motorcycles only.
The fourth Macau-Taipa bridge will connect the Zone A and Zone E1 land reclamation areas, which are both new urban areas neither of which currently has inhabitants.
According to yesterday’s statement, the bridge deck has spaces available for the future installation of various pipes and cables such as high-voltage electrical cables, gas pipes, tap water pipes, reclaimed water pipes, water pipes for firefighting, and telecommunications cables.
The bridge project has a price tag of 5.27 billion patacas.
The statement said that the fourth Macau-Taipa bridge will “effectively” help remove traffic pressure from the city’s current three sea-crossing bridges connecting the Macau peninsula and Taipa island, adding that the new sea-crossing bridge will also serve the future traffic needs resulting from Zone A’s development.
The statement also underlined that all road-network projects connected to the bridge on both the peninsula and Taipa sides will be completed before the end of this month.
According to the DSOP website, the bridge’s respective road-network projects on both sides have an additional price tag of around 1.4 billion patacas in total.
The government has still to announce the operational start of the bridge.
This handout photo taken and released by the Public Works Bureau (DSOP) yesterday shows the fourth Macau-Taipa bridge’s southern main span that was joined to its main structure on Tuesday night.
