ENG-2017 — Page 271

14

Transport

The Central Kowloon Route, a 4,7km dual three-lane route, includes 3.9km of tunnels connecting West Kowloon to the proposed Kai Tak Development and the Kowloon Bay road network in East Kowloon. Construction began in December 2017. Upon commissioning of the Central Kowloon Route, peak-hour journeys between Yau Ma Tei and Kowloon Bay will take around five minutes, saving about 25 minutes compared with the current journey time.

Planned Projects

The road construction and improvement projects being planned include:

• Tuen Mun Western Bypass - The government is carrying out a further investigation study to ascertain the feasibility of a recently developed scheme, which comprises tunnels connecting the Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link and Kong Sham Western Highway, with slip tunnels connecting to Tsing Tin Road.

• Trunk Road T2 - This proposed dual two-lane carriageway within the Kai Tak Development is about 3km long, including 2.7km of tunnels running through Kwun Tong Typhoon Shelter and adjoining areas. Forming the middle section of the strategic Route 6, Trunk Road T2 will connect the Central Kowloon Route to the Tseung Kwan O-Lam Tin Tunnel. Detailed design is ongoing.

• Cross Bay Link - The proposed 1.8km dual two-lane carriageway, with a 1.1km viaduct, will connect the Tseung Kwan O-Lam Tin Tunnel and Wan Po Road near Tseung Kwan O Area 86. Detailed design is ongoing.

• Tai Po Road (Sha Tin Section) - The dual two-lane Tai Po Road between Sha Tin Rural Committee Road and Fo Tan Road will be widened to a dual three-lane route. Detailed design is ongoing.

• Hiram's Highway - The Hiram's Highway improvement stage 2 project will cover the section between Marina Cove and Sai Kung Town Centre. Planning is under way.

• Trunk Road T4 - The proposed dual two-lane carriageway will connect Sha Tin Road to Tsing Sha Highway and Shing Mun Tunnel Road, and will be used as a bypass to Tai Po Road (Sha Tin Section) to cater for long-term traffic flow in Sha Tin. The planning for the project is under review.

• Lin Ma Hang Road - The proposed road widening works comprise the widening of the single-lane Lin Ma Hang Road between Ping Yuen River and Ping Che Road (Western Section), and between Tsung Yuen Ha and Lin Ma Hang (Eastern Section), to a single two-lane carriageway. Both detailed design for the Western Section and an environmental impact assessment for the Eastern Section are in progress.

• Route 11 - The government plans to carry out a feasibility study to establish the technical feasibility and the scope of Route 11, which will link up Yuen Long and North Lantau, to meet traffic demand arising from developments in the northwest New Territories and North Lantau.

207