Cheung Pei Shan Road reopens after overnight repairs

The Highways Department announced on Thursday that Cheung Pei Shan Road has been reopened following overnight repairs.

The road closure was necessitated by a large fire that erupted around 11 am on Wednesday (Nov 27), sending plumes of black smoke into the sky and triggering reports of explosions.

The Fire Services Department responded swiftly, deploying a breathing apparatus team and utilizing a jet to extinguish the fire within approximately 23 minutes.

The incident led to the closure of all lanes at the Tsuen Kam Interchange heading towards Cheung Pei Shan Road, as well as certain lanes of the road leading to the Shing Mun Tunnels. Following emergency repairs that concluded around 4 am today, the Shing Mun Tunnels-bound lanes were reopened after being closed for 16 hours.

Reporters at the scene observed workers using rollers to pave the road and repaint the ground lines at the Tsuen Kam Interchange. Meanwhile, the section of the road leading to the Shing Mun Tunnels had the express lane closed for maintenance, which was completed by around 4 am, allowing for the reopening of both directions of Cheung Pei Shan Road.

Initially, firefighters suspected the cause of the fire to be suspicious, prompting the police to investigate potential arson. However, they later determined that the fire was likely caused by certain items at the site without any criminal elements involved. The case was then transferred to the Tsuen Wan police district for further follow-up.

Despite this, the police revisited the possibility of arson on Wednesday night. By early Thursday morning, they found no evidence of foul play and reclassified the incident as a "fire incident." Nevertheless, the investigation was once again directed towards arson later in the morning to ensure a thorough examination of all possibilities.

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