Foothills Bypass, Hong Kong – Design to Construction

The Foothills Bypass is a dual 2-lane highway on the western side of Tuen Mun in the New Territories of Hong Kong. The road is constructed on 1.7 km of embankment along the foothills of Tsing Shan and on viaduct at its northern end where it links with a grade separated interchange. The stabilisation of a large area of existing instability (Area 19) forms a major and integral part of the works. The bypass embankment was incorporated into the stabilisation of Area 19 as a toe weight with additional filling and extensive sub-soil drainage also being applied to the slope as part of the stabilisation measures. This paper briefly describes; the design of the Area 19 stabilisation works; the construction works and; the results and implications of confirmatory site investigation made during construction.