The world’s longest over-sea bridge is on track to open July 1st, linking Hong Kong to Macau, by way of Zhuhai with a 55km span of bridges and tunnels that will shorten the trip to about 30 minutes.
The project cuts out the crowded highways that now crawl around the head of the Pearl River Delta, and will provide a land link between between two former European colonies that have special self-governing status in China. Until the late 1990s, Hong Kong was run by Britain and Macau by Portugal.
One oddity: as a remnant of their former colonial status, traffic in both Hong Kong and Macau drives on the left side of the road with right-side controls, while China drives on the right with left-hand controls. On the bridge, all traffic will move on the right, switching over at the border control points for Hong Kong and Macau.
Opinion is divided on the effects of the bridge; some believe that Hong Kong will lose some of its tourism clout as a gateway for China and Macau, while others think the addition of ‘nearby’ Macau will draw more people to the city. Beyond question, however, is that it will draw the overall economies of the three cities closer together.
