TRANSPORT
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The completion of the Shing Mun Tunnels and Tseung Kwan O Tunnel in 1990 has improved the transportation network between new towns and the urban area. The traffic congestion at the Lion Rock Tunnel has been relieved by the opening of Route 6 in June, which provides a direct link between the eastern part of Hong Kong Island, East Kowloon and Sha Tin.
In the north New Territories, remaining sections of the New Territories Circular Road from Pak Shek Au to Au Tau are being constructed in stages. Phase III between Fairview Park and Mai Po was opened in August 1991 and the remaining Phase IV will be completed in mid-1992.
The Tuen Mun to Yuen Long Eastern Corridor is under construction in the north-west New Territories to provide an eastern continuation of Route 2. This corridor is a two-way trunk road along the eastern side of Castle Peak Road to connect with the proposed Yuen Long Southern Bypass which will also start construction early in 1992. Construction of the Eastern Corridor commenced in May 1990 for completion in mid-1993.
To improve cross-border traffic and relieve the access roads to the north-west New Territories, the Country Park sector of Route 3 is under planning for completion by the late-1990s. It will be a dual three-lane carriageway connecting Ting Kau with Yuen Long.
New Airport Access
The relocation of the airport to Chek Lap Kok will require additional road links to serve the new airport and its supporting community. The major highway projects for commuting airport traffic include the Western Harbour Crossing, West Kowloon Expressway, Tsing Yi sector of Route 3, Lantau Fixed Crossing and North Lantau Expressway.
The Western Harbour Crossing will be a tunnel with dual three-lane capacity connecting the western end of Hong Kong Island with the West Kowloon Reclamation. It will help to relieve the existing cross-harbour tunnels which are forecast to reach planned capacity by the mid-1990s.
The West Kowloon Expressway is the northern extension of the Western Harbour Crossing to Lai Chi Kok, forming an important part of Route 3. It will be a dual three-lane carriageway which will serve the West Kowloon Reclamation and will substantially relieve the local and distributor roads in central and west Kowloon. Connecting Kwai Chung with Ting Kau, the Tsing Yi sector of Route 3 will mainly be a dual three-lane carriageway with two additional lanes in Kwai Chung to cope with the high traffic volume.
The Lantau Fixed Crossing comprises two crossings linking north-east Lantau to Ma Wan at Kap Shui Mun and from Ma Wan to Tsing Yi across Ma Wan Channel. The Tsing Ma Bridge, in the form of a suspension bridge with a span of about 1.4 kilometres, will be one of the longest of its kind in the world and a prominent landmark in Hong Kong. The North Lantau Expressway will be a 13.5-kilometre dual three-lane carriageway along the northern coast of Lantau linking the Lantau Fixed Crossing to the new airport at Chek Lap Kok.
Augmenting the land access to the new airport, an airport railway will be designed and built to offer the maximum comfort and convenience to airport users. The 32-kilometre airport railway will run from Central to West Kowloon, Lai King, via Tsing Yi, across the Lantau Fixed Crossing, along North Lantau to the new airport. Dedicated trains will run an express service from the airport to special stations in the urban areas where travellers can change to other forms of transport. The railway will also provide a general public