The Colossal Failure of the World's Longest Sea Bridge

this is the Hong Kong makauji High Bridge the bridge is both the world's longest sea crossing bridge as well as the world's largest submerged floating tunnel it is also a colossal failure today we'll dive into the history of this ambitious project explore what went wrong and discuss what it would take to turn things around the idea before we get into what went so wrong with this nearly 20 billion dollar project we first need to understand why it came to exist a quick look at the geography of the Pearl River delta reveals the reasons behind its existence immediately the Pearl River Delta region in southern China is home to the cities of Hong Kong Macau and juhai the unique geographical features of the area with Hong Kong to the East and Macau and juhai to the west of the Delta created the need for a more efficient means of transportation between these cities before the construction of the bridge travel between these cities was quite challenging as an example for travelers wanting to go from Hong Kong to Macau they head to primary options the first option was to drive a huge detour to the north all around the Pearl River delta which would take around four hours to travel the 200 kilometers and pass to border crossings along the way the second option was to take a ferry which would take about one hour to cross the 80 kilometers at Sea and this was if you caught the fast fairy however the ride would cost you around 40 US dollars for a round trip and there was limited space for cargo and goods as you can imagine neither option was particularly efficient which hindered the Region's economic growth and connectivity given these difficulties the idea of constricting a bridge to directly connect Hong Kong Macau and juhai seemed like a sensible solution the bridge would not only reduce travel time and increase Transportation efficiency but also boost Economic Development and Foster Regional integration an enormously ambitious plan for the construction of the bridge was therefore designed to bring these three cities together the project was first proposed in the late 1980s and after years of planning construction finally began in 2009 the bridge would consist of a series of connected Bridges tunnels and artificial Islands spanning a total of 55 kilometers across the Pearl River delta it was an engineering Marvel with a budget of approximately 10.7 billion US Dollars however the actual cost would eventually spiral out of control at first glance this project seems like a fantastic idea with tremendous potential and one might assume that it would be a resounding success right well unfortunately things didn't quite go according to plan the bridge finally opened to traffic in October 2018 after nearly a decade of construction and although the bridge was celebrated Nationwide it quickly became apparent that there were significant issues deeply rooted in various aspects of the project these problems began to surface during the construction phase and persist until today casting a shadow over the Bridge's success and the architecture status symbol it was supposed to be the failure so let's dive into the reasons why the Hong Kong the couch you high bridge has become a symbol of controversy and failure first let's talk about the costs the initial budget for the bridge was approximately 10.7 billion US dollars however as construction progressed various factors contributed to the project going significantly over budget by the time it was completed in 2018 the cost had ballooned to over 18 billion dollars nearly doubling the original estimate this staggering increase led to massive public outrage and concerns about financial mismanagement several factors contributed to the skyrocketing costs for one the Bridge's design and Engineering requirements were incredibly complex due to the challenging geographical and environmental conditions this complexity meant that construction faced numerous delays which in turn drove up costs Additionally the need for new technology and materials to address these challenges further increase the overall expenses another issue that added to the high costs was the stability and safety concerns surrounding the bridge in 2018 shortly after the bridge is opening a section of the artificial Island connecting the bridge and tunnel near Hong Kong's border was reported to have been partially washed away by strong waves during a storm this raised questions about the Bridge's structural integrity and its ability to withstand extreme weather conditions as a result authorities had to conduct inspections and Implement additional reinforcements to address the issue further driving up the Project's costs moreover the lack of transparency and accountability in the projects management also played a role allegations of corruption mismanagement and pull oversight resulted in inefficiencies and wasted resources further exacerbating the already high costs secondly the environmental impact of the bridge has been devastating the construction process involving extensive dredging and land reclamation led to significant disruptions to the delicate Marine ecosystem of the Pearl River delta affecting both marine life and water quality during construction the bridge destroyed large areas of marine habitats including the critically endangered Chinese white dolphins breeding grounds despite Promises of environmental mitigation measures the dolphin population has continued to decline raising serious concerns among environmentalists next the bridge is severely underutilized and this is most likely the most severe issue initially it was projected that the bridge would handle 9 200 vehicles per day by 2020 eventually increasing to around 30 000 vehicles per day by 2030. however since its opening the daily average has been a mere fraction of that number on most days it hovers around 3 000 Vehicles this may not sound that bad but it amounts to 62.5 vehicles per hour in One Direction if you also take into consideration that the bridge is 55 kilometers long it means you will only encounter a handful of vehicles during the full drive and this is on a bridge that has three lanes in each Direction so how did this end up happening it mainly comes down to strict permit requirements high top fees and competition from alternative routes for example Private Car owners must obtain a special permit to use the bridge which has proven to be a challenging and expensive process an additional issue is that while Macau and juhai have right hand traffic Hong Kong has due to the British influence left-hand traffic this poses two problems Vehicles need to switch lanes when entering the other side which would still be manageable however Hong Kong's traffic law allows only vehicles with the steering wheel on the right side on the roads this means that cars from zhuhai and Macau cannot enter Hong Kong but only vehicles from Hong Kong can enter the other cities due to these complexities most traffic on the bridge consists of public misses and these bus routes are contained to driving from border crossing point to the other border crossing point and are not actually entering the cities so let's do a little math experiment with those numbers we have an 18 billion investment bridges are usually financially deprecated over a term of around 40 years so that would mean that if we divide the 18 billion by 40 years then divided by 365 days we would end up at an investment cost of 1.23 million dollar per day and divided by 3 000 Vehicles using the bridge that would amount to a cost of 411 for each vehicle using the bridge this while the toll fee sits at around 10 dollars and this does not even account for the estimated 80 million dollars of yearly maintenance costs to keep the bridge running and often overlooked issue with the Hong Kong Macau juhai bridge is also the inconvenience of burger controls despite the bridge connecting the three cities each of them maintains separate Immigration and Customs procedures this means that travel is crossing the bridge need to go through these checks when entering and exiting each City these border control points can be time consuming with long cues and multiple document checks an additional loss of time for many in Hong Kong is also that the border control point to access the bridge is far away from the city center next to lantau Island and the Hong Kong International Airport most Travelers will need at least half an hour to get there moreover private cars from Hong Kong must leave their vehicles at the border controlled checkpoint and continue their Journey using Local transportation in macawarju high this requirement coupled with the inconvenience of multiple Burger controls has deterred many potential users from using the bridge opting instead for alternative transportation methods such as ferries which have more streamlined immigration procedure finally the bridge has had a profound political impact the bridge has faced political issues regarding jurisdiction and the applicable laws one such issue concerns the legal jurisdiction over the Bridge's Hong Kong Port area which is an artificial Island created for Customs immigration and quarantine facilities in 2017 Hong Kong and China signed a controversial agreement that allowed Mainland Chinese laws to be enforced within a designated area of the Hong Kong Port this Arrangement raised concerns among some Hong Kong residents who worried that it could undermine the one country two systems principle which guarantees Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy under Chinese rule the bridges management is divided among the three cities involved but the coordination between the different jurisdictions has not always been smooth leading to potential inefficiencies another missed opportunity with the Bridge's design is the lack of a railway line incorporated into its design considering China's substantial Investments and expansions in high-speed Railway networks the absence of a railway connection on the bridge seems like a significant oversight in fact China has successfully connected Hong Kong to Shenzhen via High-Speed Rail further demonstrating the potential benefits of integrating rail Connections In The Bridge Project including a railway line on the bridge could have provided a faster and more efficient Transportation alternative for passengers and cargo reducing travel time and congestion furthermore a railway connection would have been a valuable addition to the already impressive high-speed rail network in the greater Bay Area connecting Hong Kong Macau and juhai wore seamlessly and promoting economic integration in the region there's also recent issue that's worth mentioning according to a South China Morning Post article from May 2nd 2023 insufficient insurance and Regulatory bottlenecks have created additional roadblocks for cross-border motorists using the bridge many Hong Kong drivers have struggled to purchase the required insurance coverage due to a lack of available policies as well as the high cost of those that are available furthermore the lengthy approval process and lack of clarity on regulatory requirements for insurance providers to sell policies in both Hong Kong and Mainland China have compounded the problem the future so with all these challenges one might wonder is there any hope for the Hong Kong the cow juhai Bridge can it turn things around and become the incredible success it was intended to be well it's not impossible there are a few key steps that could be taken to improve the Bridge's prospects if authorities would revisit the strict permit requirements and fees making it more accessible for a wider range of users by streamlining the process more people would be encouraged to use the bridge boosting its utilization and potentially stimulating the local economies picture a future where the border control process is simplified with faster and more efficient Immigration and Customs procedures this would make crossing the bridge a more attractive option compared to alternative transportation methods drawing in more users and ultimately increasing traffic on the bridge let's also Envision us an area where the political issues are addressed ensuring a clear division of responsibilities between the involved cities and authorities this would create an environment of trust and cooperation benefiting not only the bridge but also the broader region in conclusion while the Hong Kong macauji High Bridge has faced significant challenges since its Inception there is still a possibility for it to become a success with the right actions adjustments and a healthy dose of optimism this colossal project could rise above its issues and fulfill its intended purpose of connecting the cities and transforming the region thank you for watching today's video what are your thoughts on the Hong Kong makajui bridge can it be turned into a success share your opinions in the comments section below also if you really wanted to show us some appreciation check out this next video right here [Music] [Music]

Channel: globeEX

Views: 433,882

Keywords: Border Controls, Bridge, Challenges, Construction, Construction fails, Cost Overrun, Engineering, Environmental Impact, Failure, Future Prospects, Hong Kong, Hong kong, Hong kong macau bridge, Infrastructure, Macau, Political Issues, Sea Bridge, Transportation, Underutilization, World Record, Zhuhai, building, china, construction, guinness world record, guinness world records, hong kong, longest bridge in the world, macau china, 港珠澳大桥, 港珠澳大桥 纪录片

Id: Lck_ugnP6Cs

Length: 13min 31sec (811 seconds)

Published: Sun May 14 2023