Risk assessment is crucial to the government, Individuals and the management of cooperate organisations including the construction and

manufacturing industries etc. The reason for this could be the increasing need for decision making-either to react positively or negatively to the risk or challenges at stake. To asses a risk, we have to identify, evaluate and estimate the nature of the risk and decide if they can be handled and the overall impacts on human and the environment. However, some risks involving the elements of nature may not easily be prevented by mere decision taking. Godschalk, et al. (1999) states that while natural hazards cannot be prevented, their human impacts can be greatly reduced through advance action that mitigate risks and reduce vulnerability . The construction of Hong Kong Airport was perhaps not exempted from these risks. One major risks faced in the project was the choice of a suitable crossing for the 3 mile span from the Mainland to Northern island. An initial consideration for the crossing was the construction of a tunnel, however; the high depth of the channel and possible interference from ships during construction made the engineers to consider another option for the crossing. The decision to construct a double deck suspension bridge as an alternative was a risky proposal to be undertaken in the project even though it may alleviate some of the problems considered in the tunnel construction. One of the major risks associated with the construction of the suspension bridge within the terrain was the devastating effect of typhoons and tidal winds especially during the summer when the capacity is up to 200 miles per hour. Knowing the history of these natural disasters in these areas, it was a daunting and risky venture to engage in a project of such a magnitude in that region. These risk factors prompted engineers to research and devise various methodologies to test the effects of the wind on the proposed structure. A major mitigating measure for this risk was through the creation of a computer model to stimulate the motion of the bridge when subjected to a 40 mile per hour wind amplified a 1000 times, this enabled the engineers to understand the impact of the wind on the structure and the impending design forces. Though, this model proved to be unstable under high wind loading, it was useful in the development of potential solutions to the original problem. To solve this, the engineers decided to stiffen the bridge and provide more stability. This was done by modifying the bridge to a double decker, thus increasing the weight and capacity of the bridge thereby making it more stable and able to withstand the effects of the winds and the traffic loads. Furthermore, overcoming the disastrous effects of the typhoons on the suspension bridge was a major achievement or breakthrough towards the completion of the project. However, the modifications in the design of the bridge contributed towards the evolution of new sets of risk factors in the completion of the structure. Considering the time constraint on the contract and the extra work emanating from

the modifications, the bridge builders were under pressure to meet up with the deadline and they have to work painstakingly to ensure that the suspension bridge was completed before the handover date.