TRANSPORT
To cope with the demand generated by the pace of development in Hong Kong, utility companies often have to open up the carriageways to maintain their services by the renewal, repair, and enlargement of pipes, cables and ducts. On average 85 new road openings are started every working day. These are co-ordinated and controlled by the Highways Department through a permit system, requiring the work to be done to certain standards and in a limited period of time. In order to co-ordinate these works and to minimise disruption, the department holds monthly meetings with the utility companies, police and the Transport Department through a Road Opening Co-ordinating Committee consisting of officials from the companies and the department.
Tunnels
The Lion Rock Tunnel, which links Kowloon to Sha Tin and the north-eastern New Territories, opened in 1967 with a single tube. Traffic volume was then about 6 200 per day. A second tube was added in 1978. Traffic in this tunnel increased to 102 000 vehicles a day by the end of 1989, and during peak hours traffic volume exceeds the tunnel's design capacity, particularly in the morning rush hour. Various traffic management measures have been introduced in peak periods, including tidal flow, signal-controlled merging and some restrictions on access by goods vehicles. These measures have improved traffic conditions, but longer term relief will be afforded by the opening of Shing Mun Tunnel early in 1990 and the Tate's Cairn Tunnel in 1991.
The Aberdeen Tunnel, opened in 1982, links the north and south sides of Hong Kong Island.-The average daily traffic is 48 200 vehicles.
The toll-free Airport Tunnel provides direct road access from the central area of Kowloon to Hong Kong International Airport, and crosses underneath the airport runway to Kwun Tong. Since the tunnel opened in June 1982, the volume of traffic using it has been increasing steadily and now averages about 44 700 vehicles per day.
The Cross-Harbour Tunnel, opened in 1972, runs beneath the harbour between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. An average of 116 800 vehicles used the tunnel each day in 1989. It is one of the world's busiest four-lane facilities. Traffic congestion at the approaches of the tunnel eased in the latter part of the year with the opening of the Eastern Harbour Crossing.
The Eastern Harbour Crossing, the second cross-harbour tunnel, opened to road traffic on September 21, 1989 four months ahead of schedule. This tunnel links Quarry Bay on Hong Kong Island and Cha Kwo Ling in Kowloon by means of an immersed twin-tube incorporating both road and rail links. By the end of 1989, traffic in this tunnel averaged about 22 700 vehicles per day which represents about 16 per cent of the total daily traffic using the two cross-harbour tunnels.
Traffic Management and Control
At the end of the year there were about 840 sets of traffic signals in operation in the territory, of which 320 were under the control of the Kowloon area traffic system and 170 sets were under the control of the Hong Kong Island area traffic control system.
With the expansion to Kwun Tong and Wong Tai Sin completed in September 1989, the Kowloon system now covers the whole Kowloon peninsula and the traffic monitoring closed-circuit television covers the road network west of the airport and Kowloon City. The system has been in operation for 13 years, and planning is in hand to replace it in 1993. A consultancy study was commissioned in September 1989 for the investigation and design of the replacement system.
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