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 Route 5.

Not to be confused with Airport Tunnel, Hong Kong.
Kai Tak Tunnel
Overview
Official nameKai Tak Tunnel
Other name(s)Airport Tunnel
LocationKowloon, Hong Kong
StatusActive
RoutePart of Route 5
StartMa Tau Kok
EndKowloon Bay
Operation
Opened29 June 1982 (1982-06-29)
OperatorGreat Lucky Company Limited
TrafficVehicular
CharacterLimited-access
TollNo
Technical
No. of lanes4 lanes (2 lanes per direction)
Operating speed70 kilometres per hour (43 mph)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese啟德隧道
Simplified Chinese启德隧道
JyutpingKai2 dak1 seoi6 dou6
Cantonese YaleKái dāk seuih douh
Hanyu PinyinQǐdé Suìdào
Airport Tunnel
Traditional Chinese機場隧道
Simplified Chinese机场隧道
JyutpingGei1 coeng4 seoi6 dou6
Cantonese YaleGēi chèuhng seuih douh
Kai Tak Tunnel Kowloon Bay entrance

The tunnel provides a quick link between the two ends of the tunnel, as before the construction of the tunnel vehicles had to detour through Kowloon City to reach the other end.[1][2] Kai Tak Tunnel is currently managed by Greater Lucky (H.K.) Company Limited.

History

Construction of the tunnel had started by 1975,[3] but because of the difficulties in digging under the airport runway, it was not complete until 1982. The southern tube opened to two-way traffic at 3:00 pm on 29 June 1982.[4] The second (northern) tube opened on 8 October that year.[5] The Airport Tunnel was the first tunnel in Hong Kong to be toll-free,[2] excluding short underpasses.

With Kai Tak Airport's shutdown in 1998, the Airport Tunnel was no longer fulfilled to its name. The Hong Kong Government announced to rename to Kai Tak Tunnel on 2 March 2006 that the tunnel, effective from 4 May 2006, after several years of consultation with groups including the Kowloon City District Council. The name was changed to commemorate the former Kai Tak International Airport.[6]

Features

The tunnel consists of a pair of tubes of about 7 metres diameter each, 1.26 km long. The southern tube carries west-bound traffic from Kowloon Bay to Ma Tau Kok. A point of interest is that the eastbound tunnel branches off onto Sung Wong Toi Road.[7] It is the only major vehicular tunnel in Hong Kong built entirely by the cut-and-cover technique.[2]

Many major express bus routes of Kowloon Motor Bus and New World First Bus between Kowloon and the eastern end of New Kowloon travel through the Kai Tak Tunnel. Most of them run between the Kwun Tong District or Sai Kung District and Tsim Sha Tsui and Hung Hom. They include 13X, 213X, 224X, 98D, 98P, 14X, 215X, 219X, 296D, 297, 796P. Westbound departures of routes 11X and 28 and peak hour cross harbour tunnel bus route 101X and Hong Kong High Speed Rail feeder bus route W2, also runs through Kai Tak Tunnel. In total, an estimated 60000 vehicles use the tunnel each day.[7]

References
  1. Hong Kong - Streets and Districts (香港街道與地區) (1978), Lands Department, HKSAR.
  2. Hong Kong Yearbook 1999, HKSAR.
  3. "Hong Kong (& Macau) Film Stuff: The Man from Hong Kong - Wang Yu (1975) - Kai Tak Airport, Kowloon". 31 May 2015.
  4. ""Bubbly" opening for airport tunnel". South China Morning Post. 30 June 1982. p. 16.
  5. "Airport tunnel fully operational at last". South China Morning Post. 7 October 1982. p. 17.
  6. Airport Tunnel renamed as Kai Tak Tunnel - Hong Kong Government press release. Retrieved on May 29, 2008.
  7. Hong Kong Guide 2006, Survey and Mapping Office, HKSAR.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kai Tak Tunnel.
Preceded by
Kai Fuk Road		 Hong Kong Route 5

Kai Tak Tunnel		 Succeeded by
East Kowloon Corridor

22°19′27.49″N 114°11′37.66″E

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