The Cross-Harbour Tunnel (abbreviated ''CHT'' or ''XHT'') is the first tunnel in Hong Kong built underwater. It consists of two steel road tunnels each with two lanes constructed using the single shell

immersed tube An immersed tube (or immersed tunnel) is a kind of undersea tunnel composed of segments, constructed elsewhere and floated to the tunnel site to be sunk into place and then linked together. They are commonly used for road and rail crossings of ...

method. It is the earliest of three vehicular harbour crossings in Hong Kong, opened for traffic in 1972. It was constructed under a 30-year private-sector franchise based on a

build–operate–transfer Build–operate–transfer (BOT) or build–own–operate–transfer (BOOT) is a form of project delivery method, usually for large-scale infrastructure projects, wherein a private entity receives a concession from the public sector (or the priva ...

model, and the title passed to the

Hong Kong government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the executive authorities of Hong Kong SAR. It was formed on 1 July 1997 in accordance with the Sino- ...

in 1999 upon termination of the franchise. It has become one of the most congested roads in Hong Kong and the world, with 116,753 vehicles passing through it daily in 2013.

History

The Hong Kong government used the operator model "Build Operate Transfer", or "BOT", for the implementation of the tunnel project; Financing and construction was the responsibility of a private enterprise, which was granted a concession to operate and collect tolls for 30 years. The concession was given to the then Cross-Harbour Tunnel Company Limited ( zh, t=香港隧道有限公司), today the Cross-Harbour Holdings Limited (), which was founded in 1965 to carry out the tunnel project. The Hong Kong government participated to 20% in order not to fully hand over their influence on the project. The tunnel was designed with two lanes for each direction of travel for a capacity of 80,000 vehicles. The project was structurally managed jointly by the British engineering firms Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick & Partners and Freeman Fox & Partners. The tunnel links the main financial and commercial districts on both sides of

Victoria Harbour Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbor, harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on South China Sea were instrume ...

, connecting

Kellett Island Kellett Island is a former island of Victoria Harbour, off East Point in Hong Kong. It is now connected to Hong Kong Island at Causeway Bay following land reclamation in 1969. It is located in Wan Chai District. Facilities The main bu ...

(a former island now connected to

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km2, . The island had a population of a ...

by reclamation), with a reclaimed site on the western side of

Hung Hom Bay Hung Hom Bay was a bay in Victoria Harbour, between Tsim Sha Tsui and Hung Hom in the southeast of Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong. Since 1994, parts of the bay were reclaimed, and by 2019 it had been completely extinguished. All of present-da ...

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 ...

, off then Hong Kong Technical College. The toll plaza is located at the Hung Hom end of the tunnel, and has 14 toll booths. It provides the first road link and the first link for land transport between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. Prior to the opening of the tunnel, cross-harbour vehicular traffic depended on ferries and for passengers, the

Star Ferry The Star Ferry is a passenger ferry service operator and tourist attraction in Hong Kong. Its principal routes carry passengers across Victoria Harbour, between Hong Kong Island, and Kowloon. The service is operated by the Star Ferry Co ...

. The project was joint-engineered by Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick & Partners and

Freeman Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to: * a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm * Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies * Free ...

Fox & Partners. Construction began in September 1969 and was to last four years. The concession period ran from the start of construction, and the operator accordingly completed the construction one year faster than planned. On 2 August 1972, the tunnel was opened for traffic, charging HK$5 per car crossing. After just three and a half years of operation, the operator had recouped the construction costs. In 1984, the Hong Kong Government introduced a tax in addition to the operator's toll to make the overcrowded tunnel less priced. The price for a car transit was now HK$10. In 1993, an electronic toll collection system was installed. Together with measures to control the flow of traffic, the vehicle capacity could be increased. It was administered by The Cross-Harbour Tunnel Company Ltd until August 1999, when the operation franchise agreement expired and the government assumed control. From 1 November 2010, the tunnel was managed, operated and maintained by

Serco Serco Group plc is a British company with headquarters based in Hook, Hampshire, England. Serco primarily derives income as a contractor for the provision of government services, most prominently in the sectors of health, transport, justice, ...

on a contract basis."Transport–Cross-Harbour Tunnel"
/ref> The tunnel is currently operated by Chun Wo Tunnel Management Limited, which was awarded a contract lasting from 2016 to 2022. The 2017 Hong Kong action film ''

Shock Wave In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a me ...

'', starring

Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah (; born 27 September 1961) is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maint ...

, set its main plot in the tunnel. In November 2019, Hong Kong protesters set roadblocks across the northern tunnel entrance and set fire to tollbooths, as many roads around the Polytechnic University were blocked, leading to the closure of the tunnel for a dozen of days.As it happened: Hong Kong protesters set Cross-Harbour Tunnel tollbooth alight again as tear gas fired in Kwai Chung and Yuen Long
''

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remained ...

'', 13 November 2019, retrieved 15 November 2019.

Fees

The tunnel generates approximately HK$700 million in annual toll revenue.

Transport

, there are 44 bus routes passing through the tunnel.

References

External links

Cross-Harbour Tunnel By-laws
(chapter 2301, ''Laws of Hong Kong'') 984 Ed. c/o University of Hong Kong. {{Victoria Harbour Road tunnels in Hong Kong Hung Hom Causeway Bay Victoria Harbour Undersea tunnels in Asia Route 1 (Hong Kong) Tunnels completed in 1972 Immersed tube tunnels in Hong Kong 1972 establishments in Hong Kong Toll tunnels in Hong Kong

History

Fees

Transport

See also

References

External links