New West Road
| New Middle Palace Manor Road 中新大甬 | |
| Native name | 西新大甬 |
|---|---|
| Maintained by | Metropolitan Board of Roads |
| Length | 5,450 m (17,880 ft) |
| Width | 70 m, 8 lanes |
| Construction | |
| Completion | Jun. 30, 1858 |
| Other | |
| Known for | Expensive real estate, famous houses |
| Status | Traffic calmed zone |
The New West Road is a major road in Kien-k'ang, Themiclesia. It connects the Great Northern Highway at the 'Reng-men roundabout and the eastern (Kien-k'ang) end of the New Northern Bridge (Bridge No. 15), in a roughly north-south direction. The road was commissioned by the City in the early 1850s for the convenience of a burgeoning neighbourhood based on serjeanty land concessions from the Middle Palace, where many wealthy and powerful individuals were migrating. Today, it is famed for its luscious landscaping in its medians, historic street lamps, and the generally expensive real estate on its side, often associated with famous personalities.
Route
Road design
New West Road today has eight vehicular lanes, divided into four carriageways of two lanes each. The two central carriageways are conventionally called the coach road, and the outer ones, wagon road. On both sides of the road, the coach and wagon roads are divided by medians 19.5 metres (64 ft) across. The two central carriageways, with traffic in opposite directions, are divided by a narrower median measuring 4 metres (13 ft) across. Beside the wagon road is the open gutter, which is 1 m deep and wide. Further to the side of the gutters are the gutter garden, bicycle lane, and pedestrian paths. The total width of the road is around 70 metres (230 ft). The vehicular and bicycle lanes are sealed with asphalt, while the pedestrian path are paved with stone blocks.
The medians dividing the coach and wagon roads are some of the widest in Kien-k'ang, outsizing even the ones on the Royal Avenue at 17.5 metres (57 ft). The median is dominated by fir that reach a height of 60 metres (200 ft), while shorter deciduous trees are planted around and between the fir, such as oak and maple. The outer fringes of the median are regularly landscaped with flowering plants, often changing once a season since 1952 so that blooming flowers would be present year-round. There are footpaths in the medians and open spaces for pleasure, and public art is present. The median between the two coach roads is more modest and accommodates the road's historic gaslamps, which is mounted on brick pillars surrounded by shrubs.