Chief engineer wants to turn HKZMB into ‘smart bridge’

Su Quanke

Preliminary research on how to turn the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge into a “smart bridge” has already been carried out, Su Quanke, chief engineer of the HKZMB Authority, said on Tuesday.

Su was a keynote speaker at a recent talk at the University of Macau, where he gave an overview of the bridge, from preliminary studies, to overall planning, to its design and construction.

According to the chief engineer, authorities are collaborating with institutions and key state laboratories, including UM, to help carry the project in a bid to prevent low efficiency and enhance safety considerations.

The chief engineer called for the use of advanced technology in relation to the bridge. “UM and key state laboratories will work with us so that we can be a pioneer and this could be a platform for mutual growth and construction,” said Su, adding that experts from the three regions are listing its short and long-term goals.

“[We need] to maintain and operate this bridge using AI [artificial intelligence] to bring in state of art technology. We all hope that we can use AI to resolve [technologies] such as driverless vehicles. Big data plays an important role here,” the expert added.

According to Su, the bridge is also in need of advancing its technology to predict what maintenance work is needed, based on the volume of the traffic flow.

“We would put in all kinds of data, and even if structure is deformed by 0.1mm, we will not [tolerate it]. AI will have a lot to do,” he added.

Su also discussed construction techniques used in the bridge, highlighting the sections of the bridge and the two artificial islands linked by a four-mile tunnel west of Hong Kong’s airport.

According to media reports, the 55-km bridge is preparing to have 5G services in the future.

Experts and workers extended the coverage area of the optical fiber to 20 kilometers, double the conventional maximum onshore coverage of 10 kilometers, to ensure the full coverage of network signal along the bridge.

Currently, the bridge is ready for access to the Internet of Things, an innovation to be achieved by 5G technology.

From the very beginning, the technological base needed for 5G has been considered in terms of network architecture, room for 5G station and the installment of fiber. LV

HK community, lawmakers call for crowd control in Tung Chung

(181024) — ZHUHAI, Oct. 24, 2018 (Xinhua) — People walk at the Zhuhai Port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge in Zhuhai, south China’s Guangdong Province, Oct. 24, 2018. The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao bridge, the world’s longest cross-sea bridge, opened to public traffic Wednesday. (Xinhua/Zhang Jiayang) (zyd)

Mainland crowds in Tung Chung, a residential area close to the port facility of the Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau Bridge, dropped this weekend, with community groups calling for facilities to control the tourist influx.

Lawmakers are also calling for a shopping mall and another car park with about 1,000 to 2,000 spaces to be built at the Hong Kong port, the South China Morning Post reported.

Some also suggested that a bus route should be set up for tourists visiting an east artificial island on the mega crossing, so that they do not need to enter the city.

Hong Kong’s Travel Industry Council said around 200 mainland tour groups in Hong Kong passed over the bridge on Sunday, up from about 90 a week earlier.

Meanwhile, the HKSAR government has already announced further measures to control crowds, noting that it plans to increase the number of port-to-port shuttle buses and loosening the application process for licenses to operate buses.