Hong Kong's cross-harbour vehicle capacity will be increased by 75 per cent at a single stroke when Chief Secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang officially opens the Western Harbour Crossing today, three months ahead of schedule.
A key benefit of the crossing is quicker travelling time as a result of an extensive road system allowing vehicles fast and easy access to the crossing from both sides of the harbour.
The Nishimatsu-Kumagai Gumi joint venture designed and constructed the crossing to comfortably handle up to 180,000 vehicles a day. It has a 50 per cent greater handling capability than each of the existing tunnels. The extra capacity will support the Transport Department's predicted increase in traffic levels and is intended to meet Hong Kong's cross-harbour transport needs well into the 21st century.
The $7.5 billion project to build Southeast Asia's first immersed three-lane tunnel, with 10 kilometres of associated roads (40 km of lanes) and 17 bridges, is the largest single transportation project undertaken by the private sector in the territory. The crossing is also the first privately funded 'build operate and transfer' project endorsed by the Joint Liaison Group (JLG) to be included in the Airport Core Project.
The two-km-long tunnel is one of the 10 new airport projects which will provide a vital link between the major population centres of Hong Kong island with the container port in Kwai Chung, the new airport site at Chek Lap Kok and the opening up of the northwestern New Territories with the super-highway to Guangzhou.
The Western Harbour Tunnel Company has been working closely with the Transport Department to ensure adequate road signs are in place advising of approach roads to the crossing. More than 300 signs have been erected throughout the territory, outlining directions to the crossing.