The main parts of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao(HKZM) Bridge were illuminated with colorful lights, helping construction workers ring in the new year on Sunday.
The signature project looked like a futuristic light show, and the evening’s festivities culminated with a brilliant fireworks display witnessed by thousands of construction workers.
The bridge’s night-view light system has two different modes: daily and holiday. The daily mode provides basic illumination and shows the bridge’s true colors; while the holiday mode can reveal color-changing effects using LED lighting. Designers introduced the state-of-the-art technology to make the lights more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly.
The project will soon enter a trial phase before opening to traffic. Then authorities will deliberate and make regulations on management, fees and customs clearance before the bridge becomes fully operational.
The project consists of a 22.9-kilometer-long sea-crossing bridge, an undersea tunnel 6.7 kilometers long –the world’s longest and deepest submarine tunnel– and two artificial islands to help connect the bridge and tunnel.
The entire HKZM Bridge is scheduled to officially open to traffic in 2018, when the driving time from Zhuhai to Hong Kong, and Macao will be cut from three hours to just around 30 minutes.
