Hong Kong’s Half-Mile Escalator

With hardly a creak, Hong Kong will flick the switch today on the world’s longest escalator, designed to carry 26,000 commuters daily and help unclog the colony’s roads.

The half-mile-long Hillside Escalator Link connects Hong Kong’s waterfront business area to the Mid-Levels, a chic residential district 450 feet up the slopes of Victoria Peak.

The free, 20-minute ride will save pedestrians a strenuous uphill hike. Because of the steep climb, many Mid-Levels dwellers prefer to make a long, winding drive home, crowding the narrow roads.

Hong Kong, with a population of 5.9 million, already has 430 vehicles for each mile of road--four times more than Britain.

So rather than make room for more cars, engineers spent 2 1/2 years building a $26-million escalator system.

Owned and run by the colonial government, the electrically powered link consists of 20 escalators and three moving sidewalks, with 23 exit and entry points en route.