The Danjiang Bridge project, which has been postponed for more than a decade, will be reviewed by the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Committee again at the end of this month, the Directorate-General of Highways (DGH) said yesterday.
Lee Chung-chang (李忠彰), director of the agency’s planning and design division, said the 900m Danjiang Bridge would span the Tamsui River, connecting Lingang Boulevard along Taipei Port and Shalun Road in Tamsui (淡水), New Taipei City (新北市).
From Shalun Road, drivers would be able to continue driving north to No. 1-3 road in Danhai New Township (淡海新市鎮), Lee said. The entire route from Taipei Port to the Danjiang Bridge to No.1-3 Road in Danhai New Township is approximately 6km, he said.
The agency said residents in those areas would no longer need to detour over the Kuangdu Bridge when traveling between Bali and Tamsui once the Danjiang Bridge is built. Travel distances would be cut by 15km, which will in turn reduce travel time by between 20 and 30 minutes, the agency said.
Lee said that both local and foreign design teams were welcome to pitch ideas for the bridge’s design.
The agency had planned to build a cable-stayed bridge, with the cables supporting the bridge deck being attached to diamond-shaped towers, Lee said.
“The sunset at Tamsui is one of the nation’s eight fantastic scenes. We have talked with environmental activists, who were concerned that the scene might be spoiled by the bridge,” Lee said. “What we want is a bridge that fits in well with the natural and cultural scenery in these areas.”
Once completed, the bridge would be the nation’s first to feature light-rail tracks and the roads side by side.
Lee said the bridge would be 44m wide and 20m high. It would feature a bike lane and a pedestrian pathway, and 8m of its width would be reserved for light rail tracks, he said.
The bridge’s construction cost is estimated at more than NT$15.4 billion (US$522.5 million), including the additional funding needed to expand its width.
Once the project wins EIA approval, the agency said it would take six years from expropriating the required land to designing and building the bridge.
Planning for the bridge project was completed in 1998 and then approved at the EIA in 1999. However, the EIA rejected the construction of an expressway along the north side of the Tamsui River in 1999.
Because of the ruling, the agency decided to postpone construction after reconsidering the cost and actual benefits if the bridge was built without a connecting expressway.
It reviewed the project after Provincial Highway 64, which connects Bali and Sindian (新店), became operational in 2008. The agency then decided to adjust the project by changing the designs of the express lanes in Bali and Danshuei leading to the bridge and by reserving space on the bridge for the construction of the light rail tracks to Danhai New Township.
The Environmental Impact Assessment Act (環境影響評估法) requires project developers to submit an analysis on the changes to a project’s environmental impact if they alter the project’s design.
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