Cross-Harbour Tunnel

Cross-Harbour Tunnel
Cross-Harbour Tunnel
Entrance to the tunnel in Hung Hom, Kowloon
Overview
Location Beneath Victoria Harbour, between Hung Hom and Causeway Bay
Coordinates 22°17′29″N 114°10′56″E / 22.29139°N 114.18222°E / 22.29139; 114.18222 (Cross-Harbour Tunnel)
Status Active
Start Hung Hom, Kowloon
(between Hong Chong Road and Salisbury Road)
End Northern Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Island
(Canal Road Flyover)
Operation
Opened August 2, 1972
Owner Hong Kong Government
Operator Serco Group (HK) Ltd
Technical
Line length 1.86 kilometres
No. of tracks 2 per tube, 4 in total
Cross-Harbour Tunnel
Toll of Cross harbour Tunnel, Hong Kong.jpg
Toll plaza of the Cross Harbour Tunnel in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Island
Traditional Chinese 香港海底隧道
Alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 紅磡海底隧道

The Cross-Harbour Tunnel (abbreviated CHT or XHT) is the first tunnel in Hong Kong built underwater. It has become one of the most congested roads (mainly towards the Hong Kong Island direction) in Hong Kong and the world. The tunnel was constructed using the Immersed tube method.

Contents

History

Constructed by a private company and operated under a 30-year franchise, the 1.8 km-long tunnel crossing opened in 1972, providing the first road link between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island.[citation needed] Prior to the opening of the tunnel, cross-harbour vehicular traffic depended on ferries and for passengers, the Star Ferry.

The tunnel links the main financial and commercial districts on both sides of Victoria Harbour, connecting Kellett Island (a former island now connected to Hong Kong Island by reclamation), with a reclaimed site at Hung Hom Bay, Kowloon. The toll plaza is located at the Hung Hom end of the tunnel, and has 14 toll booths.

It was administered by The Cross-Harbour Tunnel Company Ltd until August 1999, when the operation franchise agreement expired and the government assumed control.

Congestion Problems

The area around the entrance of the Cross Harbour Tunnel at the Island side in the 1970s, when the tunnel was being constructed.

Although other road tunnels, the Eastern Harbour Crossing and Western Harbour Crossing, have been built across the Victoria Harbour to divert traffic from the Cross-Harbour Tunnel, traffic congestion has not improved. Two reasons include the less convenient locations of the other two tunnels compared with the Cross-Harbour Tunnel, and more importantly the control of new tunnels by the powerful state-owned investment group CITIC Pacific. The tolls for crossing each of the other two tunnels are significantly higher, and were further increased in 2005 by up to 67% to boost investment returns.[1] Another possible reason for added traffic is induced demand, a theory in transportation planning which posits that the more roads that are created, the more people will choose to commute by car. In this case, by adding additional tunnels, it may have encouraged more people to drive overall, because of a perception that there is increased road capacity.

The Government of Hong Kong claimed it was powerless to prevent the sharp increase in tolls, and is currently looking at other options to relieve the traffic, including a plan to build a fourth harbour crossing tunnel. This may increase road capacity for the short run, but may actually increase road traffic in the future.

The Government states public buses (which are usually 90% full) cause congestion,[2] it does not give buses priority access to the tunnel south bound and strongly encourages taking the MTR West Rail Line and then switching to Tsuen Wan Line at East Tsim Sha Tsui Station.[citation needed][verification needed]

In late October 2010, a consultant hired by the Government finished a study to find out possible ways to ease the congestion on the Tunnel. In the study, they suggested that the Cross Harbor tunnel toll be raised by HKD 5 and the Eastern Harbour Crossing toll be reduced by HKD 5.[citation needed] This could halve the amount of traffic on the Cross Harbor tunnel. However, the Eastern Harbour Crossing is owned by a private company, therefore, the Government of Hong Kong cannot control the tolls there. The only way they can do this is by buying back the tunnel from the company, but that is unlikely until the franchise ends in 2016. So the Government plans to pay the tunnel operator the difference if the toll is reduced. Many people have suggested that the traffic be diverted equally among the three tunnels. But if all the tunnels were HKD 25, a massive traffic jam would be created at the Western Harbour Crossing because the exit on the Hong Kong Island side to Route 4 (Hong Kong) towards Central is already under heavy congestion during rush hour.[citation needed] This problem will persist until the Central-Wan Chai Bypass is completed. However one local who lives in the western part of Hong Kong Island wrote to the South China Morning Post saying that the whole reason why the Route 4 (Hong Kong) towards Central has traffic problems is because drivers from the residential areas from western Hong Kong are driving round the Western Harbour Crossing and onto Route 4, causing the traffic problem. If the toll was reduced he says, it will not only ease congestion on the Cross Harbour Tunnel but also on the Route 4.[citation needed]

Transport

Bus routes that pass through the tunnel:

  • Kowloon Motor Bus/New World First Bus: 101, 101R, 102R, 104, 106, 106P, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 115, 115P, 116, 301, 305
  • Kowloon Motor Bus/Citybus: 102, 102P, 103, 107, 107P, 117, 118, 118P, 170, 171, 171P, 182, 182P, 807
  • Kowloon Motor Bus: 108, 336
  • Overnights: N11, N118, N121, N122, N170, N171, N182, N368

See also

References

Cross-Harbour Tunnel
Hong Kong Route 1 Chronology
HK Route1.svg
Preceded by
Canal Road (Flyover)
Cross-Harbour Tunnel Succeeded by
Princess Margaret Road

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Cross-Harbour Bus Route 112 — Overview Operator Kowloon Motor Bus, New World First Bus …   Wikipedia

  • Cross City Tunnel — Overview Start New South Head Road End Western Distributor Operation Work begun …   Wikipedia

  • Cross-Harbour Bus Route 917 — Route 917 is a discontinued bus route in Hong Kong. It was jointly operated by Citybus and KMB, between Sham Shui Po (Yen Chow Street) and Happy Valley (Lower). The route via Sham Shui Po, Mong Kok, Jordan, Western Harbour Tunnel, Sai Ying Pun,… …   Wikipedia

  • Cross-Harbour Bus Route 606 — Hong Kong s first Alexander Dennis Enviro400 on route 606, which made its debut on the route on 17 February 2010. Cross Harbour Bus Route 606 is a bus route in Hong Kong, jointly operated by Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB) and Citybus. History 22… …   Wikipedia

  • The Cross-Harbour (Holdings) — Ltd (formerly The Cross Harbour Tunnel Company Ltd, zh t|t=港通控股有限公司, formerly 香港隧道有限公司) sehk|0032 was the operator of Cross Harbour Tunnel from 1965 to 1999. Founded in 1965, CHHL owned the Cross Harbour Tunnel up till 1999 and then on a… …   Wikipedia

  • Sydney Harbour Tunnel — The Sydney Harbour Tunnel is a twin tube road tunnel in Sydney, Australia. The tunnel was completed and opened to traffic in August 1992 to provide a second vehicular crossing of Sydney Harbour to alleviate congestion on the Sydney Harbour Bridge …   Wikipedia

  • Western Harbour Tunnel Company — The Western Harbour Tunnel Company Limited owns the franchise to run the Western Harbour Crossing in Hong Kong.It was established in 1992, as a joint venture company involving four Hong Kong conglomerates, led by the powerful state owned… …   Wikipedia

  • Tunnel sous-marin — Schéma du tunnel du l Øresundsbron Un tunnel sous marin est un tunnel qui est construit en partie ou intégralement sous ou sur le plancher sous marin. Sommaire 1 En exploitation …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Victoria Harbour — 維港 Victoria Harbour …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Fourth harbour crossing, Hong Kong — The fourth harbour crossing is being proposed in Hong Kong as the fourth underwater tunnel to cross the Victoria Harbour to ease the traffic through the Cross Harbour Tunnel. Even though the Western Harbour Crossing, operated by CITIC Pacific… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”