Making KK's new CBD connected, accessible
Published on: Monday, March 23, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: The first quarter of 2015 is ending on a positive note for Sabah's rapidly transforming capital city as Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir officially declared open the city's newest KK Times Square Bridge spanning over the mouth of the scenic Sembulan River with new dedicated cycling and pedestrian tracks, the first in the city's centre.With the completion of the Link Bridge, the developer Asian Pac Holdings Berhad's focus of 'Connecting People and Places' in the city is realised with great satisfaction expressed by all the stakeholders since the project was launched three years ago costing more than RM30 million in total costs.The six-lane Bridge was built with the cooperation of Unit Kerjasama Awam Swasta (UKAS) of the Prime Minister's Office, to improve traffic moving through the area and elevate connectivity and livability in Kota Kinabalu as a key transformation drive.
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The pedestrian walkway and bicycle track are part of the Tanjung Aru to Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Cycleway Project. Given its design and location, the KK Times Square Bridge is poised to be a focal point for commute, recreation and tourism given the cityscape and coastline views it offers."I am certain the KK Times Square Link Bridge will serve the city of Kota Kinabalu for years to come. It adds beauty and important infrastructure to one of our most dynamic coastline communities," the Mayor said in his address to the crowd witnessing the historic event.This year is an exciting year for the city as never before has the state capital witnessed the completion of a cluster of mixed development stretching along the waterfront termed as Kota Kinabalu South CBD by some, that have transformed the image of the city as a modern urban world-class centre, as positioned by Imago Mall, The Loft Residences and other shops and offices of KK Times Square.Abidin reiterated that: "The reimaging of our city's spaces with integrated, high-density mixed developments that function as a city within a city, much like the KK Times Square, which offers the full spectrum of residential, office and retail property.
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"Mixed developments curtail the need for mobility, thus freeing up roads and transportation, while research has shown that well-designed and ideally located, higher density neighbourhoods, are desirable and add value to our community and ultimately our city."The bridge connectivity is significant as the Imago Mall of KK Times Square is schedule to open March 28 which will herald a new chapter in the shopping attraction to Kota Kinabalu South CBD with ample parking and benefiting hundreds of thousands of city dwellers who will enjoy better accessibility.
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"The completion of this KK Times Square Link Bridge today will complement the cycling track and pedestrian walkway projects by City Hall. I am happy to note that this Link Bridge has incorporated our cycling track and pedestrian walkway, as part of its component."For your information, this Link Bridge will be part of the route of City Hall's pedestrian walkway and cycling track Parcel 2 Project, stretching 5.3 km long beginning from Tanjung Aru, Sembulan to Wawasan Plaza."The project costing some RM38 million is divided into four phases: Parcel 1 comprising Port and Likas Bay, Parcel 2 comprising Tanjung Aru and Sembulan, Parcel 3 on the Central Business District and Parcel 4 comprising Tun Mustapha Building and UMS."It is one of three tourism projects identified and implemented under the Sabah Development Corridor programme. Components of the project include a bicycle shared part, bridges, decking, covered bicycle parking, LED lighting, children playground and others," Abidin elaborated."The KK Times Square Bridge is a significant investment which will go a long way in alleviating traffic in the city and towards building cohesive communities."It is a representation of the importance of a shared vision and public-private partnerships to address the pressing question of a sustainable and liveable city."The pursuit of sustainable and liveable communities and cities thrives on the involvement of the community in its design."Asian Pac's forefront role in being one of the stakeholders and strategic partners in improving Kota Kinabalu's infrastructure is commendable to enhance accessibility into and within the city," the Mayor noted in appreciation.Abidin later led a convoy across KK Times Square Bridge, effectively becoming the first Sabahan and Malaysian to use it."I am indeed honoured to officially launch the KK Times Square Link Bridge, and to become the first Sabahan and Malaysian to use this bridge," the Mayor declared.The KK Times Square Bridge is designed with a three-lane dual carriageway skewed at 18 degrees, spanning 65 metres over the scenic Sungai Sembulan.It will directly link the KK Times Square development with Jalan Coastal to join Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens towards the northern part of the city, as well as Jalan Kemajuan via the existing roundabout.Group Managing Director of Asian Pac Holdings Berhad Dato' Mustapha Buang in his welcome remarks said: "Asian Pac is committed to enhance the lives of the citizens of Kota Kinabalu as a city of the future; yet we also know that for a city to be liveable, it begins with the connectivity and accessibility between people and places."The KK Times Square Bridge was always an integral part of our master plan, not only to provide connectivity and accessibility to the people who live, work, play and will soon shop here at Imago Mall, but as a part of our deep commitment towards our role in elevating the development of Greater Kota Kinabalu, and connecting people and places in a city of the future."This only serves to underscore the importance of what we are doing to support the infrastructure and economic development in the city by helping create a thriving, connected city," he said.The KK Times Square Bridge was intelligently designed to adopt a full integral bridge concept. To optimize the design of the relatively wide but shallow bridge, two units of single span twin cell box girders were used.It is designed as cast in-situ post-tensioned box girder-bridge and the depth varies from 1.8 meters at mid span to 4 meters at the pier.No expansion joints and bearings were used in the design of the bridge to minimise future maintenance cost; and it is built monolithically to the abutments.Counter weight box segments of 10 meters long and 5.1 meters deep, filled in with granular fill material, are provided at the two abutments. Bored piles were used as the foundation of the bridge structures, to provide resistance as well as the lateral soil structure interaction.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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