Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raymond Tam Vai Man said yesterday that the government is aiming to reduce the number of manhole covers on roads where roadwork projects are slated to be carried out, with the objective of improving road surface conditions and enhancing the safety of motorcycle riders.
According to Wikipedia, a manhole cover is a removable plate forming the lid over the opening of a manhole, an opening large enough for a person to pass through that is used as an access point for an underground pipe or cable, allowing inspection, maintenance, and system upgrades. A manhole cover is designed to prevent anyone or anything from falling in, and to keep out unauthorised persons and material.
Tam made the remarks while chairing a meeting of the government’s Working Group for Optimising the Coordination of Roadwork Projects yesterday.
It is a new working group set up by the government in March last year, aiming to “fundamentally” minimise the adverse impact of roadworks on residents by improving its cross-departmental coordination of roadwork projects.
The Transport Bureau (DSAT) released information of yesterday’s meeting in a statement.
The working group, chaired by Tam, is tasked with reviewing the operation of the government’s mechanisms for coordinating the city’s roadwork projects and making the necessary improvements to the mechanisms.
The working group comprises officials from various public entities.
During yesterday’s meeting, according to the statement, Tam urged the members of the working group to continue improving the coordination of the city’s roadwork projects in closer alignment with the group’s five main work directions.
During the working group’s first meeting following its establishment in March last year, Tam raised five main directions that the working group must comply with for its task of improving the coordination of roadwork projects, namely reserving space for the installation of underground pipes and cables with the aim of avoiding repeated excavation; rigorously assessing roadwork projects’ duration proposed by the respective entities with the aim of minimising the projects’ duration; encouraging the applications of new equipment, new materials, and new techniques; reviewing and streamlining the government’s administrative procedures for assessing and approving applications for roadwork projects; and strengthening promotional campaigns and improving the transparency of roadwork projects.
During yesterday’s meeting, according to yesterday’s statement, Tam ordered the working group, when planning a roadwork project to be conducted on a particular road, to study the feasibility of also reducing the number of manhole covers there.
The statement said that one of the working group’s key tasks this year is to review the number and distribution of existing manhole covers on roads where roadwork projects are slated to be carried out. The working group, the statement said, will study the feasibility of removing certain manhole covers, or merging multiple manhole covers into one, thereby reducing the number of manhole covers on the roads, with the aim of improving road surface conditions and better ensuring the safety of motorcycle riders.
Meanwhile, the statement also said that the working group will continue promoting the applications of new techniques for roadworks, such as those enabling no excavations, with the aim of reducing the area of road surface where excavations are required in a roadwork project.
This DSAT photo released yesterday shows a manhole cover on Avenida Panorâmica do Lago Sai Van, near the exit of the Macau-Taipa Sai Van Bridge. This section of the avenue is one of various roads where the government plans to reduce the number of manhole covers in future roadwork projects.
Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raymond Tam Vai Man chairs yesterday’s meeting of the Working Group for Optimising the Coordination of Roadwork Projects. – Photo: DSAT
