A new footbridge system at the junction of Sham Mong Road and Yen Chow Street West opened to the public on 5 October, giving pedestrians an elevated route between Nam Cheong Estate, Fu Cheong Estate, a nearby public park, the development above Nam Cheong station and V Walk. The project cost HK$330 million.
The system has six lifts, six covered escalators and three covered stairways. Its translucent roof is designed to bring in more daylight and give users a more open view along the walkway, according to the Civil Engineering and Development Department.
The route is intended to improve links between local estates and nearby facilities, separate pedestrians from vehicles, strengthen road safety and reduce the time vehicles spend waiting at traffic lights.
The existing street-level pedestrian crossings will remain during the initial opening period while people adapt to the footbridge system. They will later be closed and removed at an appropriate time, according to the department.
The Finance Committee approved funding in March 2021, and construction began in the second half of that year. The project took approximately five years to complete. Its cost and design had attracted scrutiny during earlier legislative and district-level discussions, including questions about whether all the proposed facilities were necessary and whether seven lifts were excessive. Six lifts were ultimately installed.