Hong Kong Shenzhen Western Corridor

Serco, working in partnership with KML Engineering, was responsible for the delivery of the HK$82.6 million Traffic Control and Surveillance System for the Hong Kong Shenzhen Western Corridor. This is the first rule-based Traffic Control and Surveillance System in Hong Kong. The roadway links Hong Kong to the mainland China city of Shenzhen.

The project included the design, supply, installation and commissioning of a Traffic Control and Surveillance System for the 3.2 km Hong Kong Special Administrative Region section of the Hong Kong Shenzhen Western Corridor, the 5.4 km Deep Bay Link and the 8 km Yuen Long Highway, which connects downtown Hong Kong to the New Territories.

The Hong Kong Shenzhen Western Corridor grew out of a 2001 study that found that there was an urgent need to relieve pressure on the existing links and to satisfy predicted demand and further enhance trade between the cities. The 2001 study also recommended that the new crossing should be the key to connecting the highway network in Southern China to Hong Kong International Airport, which opened to commercial operations in 1998.

The Hong Kong Shenzhen Western Corridor was officially opened by Chinese President Hu Jintao on 1 July 2007 as part of the 10th anniversary celebration of the handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom.

58,600 vehicles and 60,000 cross-boundary tourists use the roadway each day. By 2016, it is anticipated that the Hong Kong Shenzhen Western Corridor will carry upwards of 80,000 two-way vehicle crossings per day.

The Traffic Control and Surveillance System is the biggest traffic management system implemented in Hong Kong to date. Other, smaller, discrete solutions are in place on various tunnels and the Traffic Control and Surveillance System will have to interface with and complement these.

The Traffic Control and Surveillance System includes 11 gantries incorporating eight full-function, dual-language, Chinese-English Variable Message Signs, lane control systems and variable advisory speed restrictions. Sitting across the top of this are links to external applications including weather and structural monitoring systems on the crossing and an external web server.

The primary function of the system is to manage incidents by recommending suitable responses to operators and allowing their rapid implementation via roadside equipment as part of a coordinated automated response or manually by the operator.

Serco is now providing ongoing management and maintenance of the Traffic Control and Surveillance System. This contract is renewed on an annual basis.