West Rail Tai Lam Tunnel

The project involved the construction of the Tai Lam Tunnel connecting the Tsuen Wan West Station and Pat Heung Depot.

Environmental Concern

A number of village settlements namely, Ho Pui, Tai Kek Tsuen and Cheung Po, were located approximately 300 to 400 m away from the portal of the tunnel. As the tunnelling works would be conducted round-the-clock, noise arising from the powered mechanical equipment, e.g. ventilation fan, loader, air compressor, generator, concrete lorry mixer, conveyor belt, concrete pump, poker, vibrator, dump truck were major environmental concerns.

Measures Adopted

Quite Method & Noise Barrier - Loader was used to level the stockpile. In order to increase screening to the stockpile, three tiers of containers were used to form a barrier around the perimeter of the stockpile area. The haul road between batching plant and tunnel was also screened from the village houses by containers.

Restriction - Concrete lorry mixers were allowed to operate only before 11 p.m. Moreover, the vibratory poker and concrete pump were allowed from 0700 to 2300 hour and in the tunnel only.

Observations & Achievements

As a result of the implementation of extensive noise mitigation measures, the resultant noise level from the construction works was minimised to reduce the impact on the nearby residential developments.