East Kowloon Corridor () is a
highway
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...
in
Kowloon
Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and t ...
,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
. It is part of
Route 5. It is a dual two-lane carriageway running from the exit of
Kai Tak Tunnel
Kai Tak Tunnel, formerly known as the Airport Tunnel, is a tunnel in New Kowloon, Hong Kong, which connects the Kowloon Bay and Ma Tau Kok areas by going beneath the former Hong Kong International Airport (Kai Tak Airport). It is part of Ro ...
near Sung Wong Toi Road to its ramp on
Chatham Road North in
Hung Hom
Hung Hom () is an area in the southeast of Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong. Including the area of Whampoa, Tai Wan, Hok Yuen, Lo Lung Hang and No. 12 Hill are administratively part of the Kowloon City District, with a portion west of Hung Ho ...
, near where
Ma Tau Wai Road
Ma Tau Wai Road () is a main road in Kowloon City District, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
History
Named after Ma Tau Wai, Ma Tau Wai Road The northern section was named after Ma Tau Chung as Ma Tau Chung Road. There is a new Kowloon City Road that connec ...
joins Chatham Road North.
Description
Since its completion in 1981, East Kowloon Corridor, together with Kai Tak Tunnel, play crucial roles in diverting road traffic in Kowloon by feeding traffic between Hung Hom and
Kwun Tong
Kwun Tong is an area in the Kwun Tong District of Hong Kong, situated at the eastern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, and its boundary stretches from Lion Rock in the north to Lei Yue Mun in the south, and from the winding paths of Kowloon ...
by providing a shortcut, thereby avoiding causing
traffic congestion
Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s. When traffic de ...
in
To Kwa Wan
To Kwa Wan () is a bay and an area of the eastern shore of Kowloon peninsula. The area is part of urban Hong Kong, and is situated between Hok Yuen, Hung Hom, Ma Tau Wai and Ma Tau Kok. Administratively, the area belongs to the Kowloon City ...
,
Mong Kok
Mong Kok (also spelled Mongkok, often abbreviated as MK) is an area in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The Prince Edward subarea occupies the northern part of Mong Kok.
Mong Kok is one of the major shopping areas in Hong Kong. The area is characterised ...
,
Kowloon City
Kowloon City is an neighbourhood, area in New Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is part of Kowloon City District.
Compared with the council area of Kowloon City District, the Kowloon City area is
History
As early as in the Qin dynasty (221 BCE ...
and
Ngau Chi Wan
Ngau Chi Wan was a bay beneath Hammer Hill in New Kowloon, Hong Kong. It now refers to an area where Choi Hung Estate is situated.
Features
Amidst in an urban built-up area, the original Ngau Chi Wan Village remains. St. Joseph's Home for ...
where traffic is already saturated. In particular, East Kowloon Corridor gives drivers an alternative
overpass
An overpass (called an overbridge or flyover in the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth countries) is a bridge, road, railway or similar structure that crosses over another road or railway. An ''overpass'' and ''underpass'' together form ...
between Hung Hom and Kowloon City.
[Hong Kong Guide 2006 (Photomap Edition), Survey and Mapping Office, HKSAR][Hong Kong Guide 2004 (Photomap Edition), Survey and Mapping Office, HKSAR] In this sense, East Kowloon Corridor serves as an ideal alternative for drivers since it has only two exits and no
traffic light
Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at intersection (road), road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traf ...
s.
[Hong Kong Driving Guide 2006 (香港街道駕駛指南(第十年版)), Universal Publications Ltd., Hong Kong. ]
Geographically, East Kowloon Corridor runs on top of Kowloon City Road and Ma Tau Wai Road.
[Centamap](_blank)
/ref> Just ahead of the entrance to Kai Tak Tunnel lies the only branching exit of East Kowloon Corridor, which goes to Kowloon City Road northbound from the northbound direction, San Shan Road eastbound from the southbound direction, and the only branching entrance to the southbound direction fed from San Shan Road westbound. It descends and joins into Chatham Road North near an intersection with Fat Kwong Street.
The word "East" is used in order to disambiguate from West Kowloon Corridor
West Kowloon Corridor is part of Route 5 in Hong Kong. Bypassing existing surface roads in West Kowloon, it connects Lai Chi Kok Road in Cheung Sha Wan with the Gascoigne Road Flyover near Yau Ma Tei.
The highway was built in 4 phases:
*Phase 1 ...
, which is situated farther west near Lai Chi Kok
Lai Chi Kok is a neighbourhood in Kowloon, Hong Kong, east of Kwai Chung and west of Cheung Sha Wan. Mei Foo Sun Chuen is the largest housing estate in the area and also the largest in Hong Kong with 99 blocks. Administratively, it belongs t ...
.
Effect on surroundings
As many buildings were already built around Kowloon City Road and Ma Tau Wai Road before East Kowloon Corridor was constructed, residents in the district, especially those living in lower floors of buildings on the sides of the flyover, were strongly affected by the noise generated from car engines during rush hour
A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice every weekday: on ...
.LegCo reference on noise problem caused by East Kowloon Corridor
/ref> Many residents have already moved out from those buildings and the buildings were turned into commercial or other uses.
References
{{sequence
, prev=Kai Tak Tunnel
Kai Tak Tunnel, formerly known as the Airport Tunnel, is a tunnel in New Kowloon, Hong Kong, which connects the Kowloon Bay and Ma Tau Kok areas by going beneath the former Hong Kong International Airport (Kai Tak Airport). It is part of Ro ...
, list= Hong Kong Route 5
East Kowloon Corridor
, next= Chatham Road North
Expressways in Hong Kong
Route 5 (Hong Kong)
Hung Hom
Kowloon City
To Kwa Wan