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  Tamkang bridge on track as second phase launched  By Shelley Shan  /  Staff reporter 

   The second phase of the Tamkang Bridge project was launched on Saturday, which entails building two ramps between the Tamkang Bridge and New Taipei City’s Bali District (八里) and an access road from Tamsui District (淡水) to the bridge.

The target completion date for the construction of the bridge by 2020 remains unchanged, the Directorate-General of Highways said, adding it would seek qualified contractors to build the main bridge in a public tender as soon as a review of the design plan is completed later in the year.

The bridge to connect Tamsui and Bali has been opposed by local residents and historians for fear it would block sunset views over the Tamsui River (淡水河), which is considered a tourist attraction.

Some have said that the bridge “only surfaces during the political campaign season” because many politicians have promised to build it if elected.

The highway authority started work on phase one of the bridge’s construction in October 2014, building a 460m access road in Bali between the bridge and Highway 61A.

The directorate said phase one of the project has been going smoothly and is scheduled to be finished by the end of the year.

The the two ramps are about 2.4km in total. The access road connecting the bridge and Tamsui is expected to be about 1.16km, including a 200m tunnel.

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Saturday said at the phase two ground-breaking ceremony that politicians like to make grandiose promises on the campaign trail, but they tend to forget their promises after the election.

“The Tamkang Bridge, as well as Kinmen Bridge, will not be unfulfilled campaign promises anymore. These two bridges, and the ‘bridge’ between Taiwan and China built after my meeting with Chinese President Xi Jing-pin (習近平), are important milestones,” Ma said.

  The directorate last year chose a bridge design pitched by Zaha Hadid Architects, but it has yet to be reviewed. Phase three of the project is about 2km long, including a 920m bridge.

The directorate said it would hold a public tender to select a qualified contractor to build the bridge when the review process is finished.

The directorate said the entire project is expected to cost approximately NT$14.1 billion (US$420 million).

The bridge is expected to reduce travel distance between Tamsui and Bali by 15km as commuters need not go through the Guandu Bridge. Traffic volume between Juwei (竹圍) and the Guandu Bridge is also expected to drop by 30 percent, the directorate said.

      

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