not be lowered. The crane had a maximum height of 43 metres, but was tilted slightly to 41 metres. The bridge has an actual clearance of 47 metres, but potentially due to the high tide and wave action, the crane struck the bridge and damaged its underside. The Tsing Ma Bridge has a higher height clearance of 53 metres but a source said the captain of the tugboat towing the barge may have opted to take Kap Shui Mun to save time. The strike triggered the Ship Impact Detection System to issue an alarm and both the road and railway were shut down immediately, severing Lantau Island and the airport from the city from about 7:40 pm to 10:00 pm. The government's contingency plan to implement emergency ferry service between Tsuen Wan and Tung Chung failed as the ferry operator took almost two hours to ready the service. Some travelers attempted to reach the airport via the Discovery Bay Ferry Pier, although many missed their flights. The Highways Department inspected the bridge and found that only the inspection platform rails were damaged by the collision, and that the structural integrity of the bridge was not jeopardised. In the days following the incident there were calls in local media for the government to build a second link to the airport. In fact, such a link was already under construction: the Tuen Mun–Chek Lap Kok Link road tunnel was being constructed as part of the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge project. This opened in 2020. See also List of tunnels and bridges in Hong Kong References External links Yokogawa Bridge project page Bridges completed in 1997 Double-decker bridges Bridges in Hong Kong Route 8 (Hong Kong) Road-rail bridges Railway bridges in Hong Kong Cable-stayed bridges in Hong Kong Tsuen Wan District Vierendeel truss bridges