Western Harbor Crossing (Har 海底 隧道, also known by the abbreviation WHC) is a Hong Kong automobile tunnel built under the waters of Victoria Bay .
Connects Hong Kong Island ( Saivan District) and Kowloon Peninsula ( West Kowloon ). It was opened in 1997 (the last of three automobile tunnels crossing Victoria Bay) [1] [2] .
It consists of two tunnels, each of which has three lanes (the length of the tunnel is 1.97 km.). Western Harbor Crossing was built by immersing ready-made sections of the tunnel on the seabed, which, under water, joined the previous sections. Western Harbor Crossing is part of the ambitious Airport Core Program project, a network of bridges, tunnels and overpasses that connect the new Cheklapkok International Airport with Hong Kong Island [1] .
The builder, owner and operator of the tunnel is Western Harbor Tunnel Company Limited (a joint venture of The Cross-Harbor (Holdings), CITIC Pacific and Kerry Properties ). The tunnel management concession received from the Hong Kong authorities is valid from 1993 to 2023 [3] [4] .
Already in the early 1980s, it became clear that the Cross Harbor Tunnel , opened in 1972, could not cope with traffic through Victoria Bay. In addition, after the approval of the transfer plan of the Hong Kong airport, there was an urgent need for a new infrastructure system that would connect Hong Kong Island, Kowloon Peninsula, a new container terminal in Khuaychin County and Lantau Island [1] .
In September 1991, British and Chinese authorities signed a memorandum of support for the design of the new airport and its transportation infrastructure. Private companies interested in participating in the project began to create consortia. As a result, a consortium of Wheelock & Co and CITIC won the tender announced by the authorities. In 1993, the Western Harbor Tunnel Company Limited, formed by them, was declared the operator of Western Harbor Crossing and began construction of the tunnel [1] .
Motorway No. 3 passes through the tunnel, connecting Saivan and Yunlon , as well as dozens of bus routes from Kowloon Motor Bus, New World First Bus and Citybus. In Saivan, Motorway 3 connects to Motorway 4, which runs along the northern coast of Hong Kong Island. Due to heavy traffic during rush hours, traffic jams are often observed on driveways to the tunnel (although Western Harbor Crossing is much less popular than the Cross Harbor Tunnel) [1] [5] [6] [7] .
As of the beginning of 2013, the cost of passage through the tunnel was: for motorcycles - 25 races. dollars, for a taxi - $ 50, for private cars - $ 55, for public and private vans and light commercial vehicles - $ 65, for medium-sized commercial vehicles - $ 90, for public and private buses - $ 100 ., for heavy commercial vehicles - $ 120; for double-decker public and private buses - $ 140.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 West Harbor Crossing (inaccessible link) . OMEGA Center. Date of treatment August 31, 2014. Archived on September 4, 2014.
- ↑ Tunnels & Bridges . Date of treatment August 31, 2014.
- ↑ About WHT . Western Harbor Tunnel Company Limited. Date of treatment August 31, 2014.
- ↑ Shareholding Structure . Western Harbor Tunnel Company Limited. Date of treatment August 31, 2014.
- ↑ The Annual Traffic Census 2011 . Transportation Department, Hong Kong. Date of treatment August 31, 2014.
- ↑ Drive for tunnels shake-up wins Legco vote (inaccessible link) . The Standard. Date of treatment August 31, 2014. Archived on September 3, 2014.
- ↑ Consultancy Study on Rationalizing the Utilization of Road Harbor Crossings . Date of treatment August 31, 2014.