New road linking Hong Kong with mainland China to open this month as work on HK$33.7 billion border crossing enters final stages
- Heung Yuen Wai Highway that will connect new border control point with Fanling Highway to take traffic from May 26
- Infrastructure project a key part of Greater Bay Area plan
A major road linking Hong Kong’s new border crossing to Shenzhen will open to traffic this month, with the HK$33.7 billion Liantang-Heung Yuen Wai control point also expected to open by the end of the year.
The toll-free Heung Yuen Wai Highway, which connects the new border control point with the Fanling Highway, is expected to open from 8am on May 26, alleviating the busy traffic in the North District and reducing travelling time from Sha Tau Kok and Ta Kwu Ling to Sheung Shui, Tai Po and Kowloon.
Travel times from Loi Tung, Sha Tau Kok to Fanling Highway near Kau Lung Hang are expected to be cut from 15 minutes to just four minutes. It will take only eight minutes from Heung Yuen Wai, Ta Kwu Ling to the same spot, instead of the 24 minutes it presently takes.
At a press conference on Friday, the Transport Department’s chief traffic engineer, Chow Bing-kay, said he believed the road would reduce congestion on Sha Tau Kok Road, the only way for residents in the Sha Tau Kok and Ta Kwu Ling areas to travel to and from other parts of Hong Kong at the moment.
At about 11km long the road also has two tunnels, including the 4.8km Lung Shan Tunnel, which is the longest road tunnel on land in Hong Kong.