Eighteen BEC members visited the Kennedy Town and Overrun Tunnel of the West Island Line to have more understanding of the construction process of the future MTR Station on 17 November 2011.
The visit started with a warm welcome from Mr Brian Gowran, Project Director, Gammon Construction. He gave an overview of this project, West Island Line 705 and was followed by his teammate, Miss Rebecca Leong, Environmental Engineer of MTR Corporation Limited. She shared the plans and challenges in re-locating the Kennedy Swimming Pool during the construction of the West Island Line. Miss Michelle Tang, Environmental Manager of Gammon Construction, explained the techniques used for the protection of tree wall and the surrounding environment. Mr David Ng, Safety Advisor, Gammon Construction Limited gave a detailed and lively presentation on the safety measures at the construction site and the importance of increasing the awareness of all the workers of the site. Ms Ng Yuen Wah, Community Officer, who is also from Gammon Construction focused on the community-outreach done by the staff at the construction site.
The participants first went to see the tree wall protection measures at Forbes Street. Then they toured around construction site, which includes an acoustic deck made of noise absorption materials covering the overrun tunnel. This reduces the impact of noise created crushing process to the neighborhoods. Some BEC members went into the 25-metre underground level to have a glimpse of the construction site and experience the different noise levels above and below the acoustic deck. Other members went to the Kwun Lung House to have a bird-view of the construction site project.