Bridge to mainland preparing for traffic surge

The highway port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is bracing for the expected surge of vehicles that will enter Guangdong province from Hong Kong starting on Saturday.

Now the 44 small car channels at the port will be available and operate efficiently after having completed five optimizations and 10 upgrades, according to the border inspection station of the bridge.

After a new program for northbound vehicles takes effect on Saturday, peak inbound traffic flow at the port is expected to occur daily between 9 am and noon, and from 5 pm to 8 pm, while the peak outbound traffic flow will occur after 6 pm.

Weekend peak traffic flow will be 1.3 times greater than on working days, the station said.

Under the program, Hong Kong private car owners and drivers will be allowed to travel with eligible vehicles between the special administrative region and Guangdong province via the bridge. Guangdong has allowed private vehicles from Macao to drive across the border at the bridge since January.

"We have now established a communication mechanism with Hong Kong and Macao and will open all the inspection channels in advance to help handle vehicle clearance procedures during the peak traffic periods," said Ling Junqian, a senior officer at the border inspection station.

"Meanwhile we will scientifically deploy border police officers to deal with the cross-border traffic surge and try to shorten the time for car owners to go through the procedures."

In the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, which borders Hong Kong, various departments are busy constructing and expanding parking lots and upgrading license plate recognition to meet demand from the surge of vehicles from Hong Kong in the months to come.

Priorities have been given to upgrading parking lots in busy commercial areas and at hospitals, the city's traffic bureau said. More than 20 parking lots with more than 10,000 spaces have been upgraded so far.

At least 100 parking lots in the city will be upgraded to be able to recognize Hong Kong and Macao license plates by the end of the year, the bureau said.

Automatic recognition of plates will be a basic standard for new parking lots in Shenzhen in the coming months, it said.