Construction of the Tamkang Bridge (淡江大橋) could begin this year should the contractor pass a final evaluation next month, the Directorate-General of Highways (DGH) said yesterday.
The bridge project was launched to connect New Taipei City’s Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里) districts to ease traffic congestion during peak hours and on holidays.
The project is divided into three parts: a section of road that connects the Port of Taipei and the bridge, the bridge itself, and a section connecting Bali to the bridge.
Construction of the road connecting the port to the bridge was completed in November 2016, while the construction of the section between Bali and the bridge began in September 2016, and is scheduled to be finished by 2020.
The tender for constructing the 920m bridge has been canceled seven times due to a lack of qualified bidders.
The project finally attracted one bidder — Kung Sing Engineering Corp — before the tender offer expired on Tuesday last week.
Kung Sing is one of the nation’s largest construction firms and is a qualified bidder, DGH Deputy Chief Engineer Teng Wen-kuang (鄧文廣) said, adding that it has built two tunnels for the Suhua Highway Improvement Project.
According to the Government Procurement Act (政府採購法), the contractor must pass the final evaluation, which is to be conducted during a meeting in the middle of next month, before it can officially be awarded the contract, Teng said.
“We will ask them to quickly start building the bridge after the contract is signed,” Teng said.
The bridge was designed in 2015 by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, the first woman to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2014, the agency said.
Hadid passed away in March 31, 2016, at the age of 65.
The project failed to attract bidders due to the risks and challenges involved, as well as limited funding and a short time frame, Teng said.
The project’s budget was last year raised from NT$9.5 billion (US$325.47 million) to NT$12.5 billion and the planned construction time was extended from 60 months to 68 months to attract bidders, Teng said.
When the tender reopened this year, the agency further offered an incentive of NT$8 million to encourage bidding, the agency said, adding that it aims to open the bridge in 2024.
Once completed, the bridge would be world’s longest single-tower, asymmetric cable-stayed bridge, it added.
In addition to National Highway No. 2, people living in Tamsui and further north would be able use the bridge to travel to Taipei and New Taipei City, the agency said.
They would be able to connect to the Wugu Interchange on the Sun Yat-Sen Freeway (Freeway No. 1) and Jhungho Interchange on Formosa Freeway (Freeway No. 3) via Bali-Sindian Expressway (Highway No. 64), it said.
They would also be able to connect to Highway No. 65 to New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang (新莊), Banciao (板橋) and Tucheng (土城) districts, as well as the Tucheng Interchange on Freeway No. 3, the agency said.
People traveling to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport would also be able also take the bridge and connect to the Sibin Expressway, the agency said, adding that a trip to the airport would take about 30 minutes.
Commuters between Tamsui and Bali would see their daily travel time reduced by 30 minutes after the bridge is opened, it said.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
PROMOTION: Travelers who want a free stopover must book their flights with designated travel agents, such as Lion Travel, Holiday Tours, Cola Tour and Life Tours Air Canada yesterday said it is offering Taiwanese travelers who are headed to North America free stopovers if they transit though airports in Japan and South Korea. The promotion was launched in response to a potential rise in demand for flights to North America in June and July next year, when the US, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to jointly host the FIFA World Cup, Air Canada said. Air Canada offers services to 13 of the 16 host cities of the tournament’s soccer games, including Toronto and Vancouver; Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico; Atlanta, Georgia; Boston; Dallas; Houston;
The US approved the possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet spare and repair parts for US$330 million, the Pentagon said late yesterday, marking the first such potential transaction since US President Donald Trump took office in January. "The proposed sale will improve the recipient's capability to meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness of the recipient's fleet of F-16, C-130," and other aircraft, the Pentagon said in a statement. Trump previously said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has told him he would not invade Taiwan while the Republican leader is in office. The announcement of the possible arms
Fung-wong has been downgraded to a tropical storm from a typhoon as it approaches Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. The storm has weakened, but would still pose a major threat to Taiwan and its surrounding waters as it comes closer, CWA forecaster Chu Mei-lin (朱美霖) told reporters. As of 9am, the center of Tropical Storm Fung-wong was 360km southwest of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point, and moving north-northeast to northeast at 12kph. It was carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 108kph and gusts of 137kph, compared with 119kph and 155kph respectively recorded at about 7am
RSS