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Cars going through the Central-Wan Chai Bypass. Photo: Sam Tsang

Slight congestion on roads leading to Hong Kong’s Central-Wan Chai Bypass as HK$36 billion link faces first evening rush hour

  • Few cars seen in the morning on 4.5km link after three-hour jam on Sunday prompts drivers to take alternative routes, but traffic picked up in evening

The multibillion-dollar bypass built to ease congestion in the heart of Hong Kong ran smoothly during the Monday morning rush hour, but there were slight jams in the evening on roads leading to the link.

While the ride through the HK$36 billion (US$4.6 billion) Central-Wan Chai Bypass was mostly smooth, commuters said they did not save much, if any, time compared with other routes, which also had no congestion on Monday.

The bypass first opened to traffic on Sunday morning, providing a mostly uneventful journey, with the exception of a jam in the afternoon that prompted the Transport Department to suggest drivers take alternative routes during Monday’s morning and evening peak hours – which experts had warned would be the real challenge for the link.

The 4.5km bypass – completed after about 10 years of construction plagued by delays and cost overruns – comprises a flyover in Central and a 3.7km tunnel. It is expected to ease congestion between North Point and Central, particularly on Gloucester Road, Harcourt Road and Connaught Road Central.

Smooth ride for bypass’s first day – but real test comes on Monday

At about 8am on Monday, the Post took only two minutes to get from the Island Eastern Corridor in North Point to the entrance of the bypass. The ride in the 3.7km tunnel took about four minutes.

Very few vehicles were seen inside the tunnel, which seemed almost deserted. Once out of the bypass in Central, it took another six minutes to get to Sheung Wan.

More vehicles were seen taking other routes from North Point to Central.

The ride from Central to North Point was smooth as well. While there was slightly heavy traffic at the Rumsey Street Flyover in Sheung Wan, before vehicles could get onto the bypass, the ride in the tunnel again lasted only four minutes.

Traffic started to pick up slightly at about 9am on both sides of the tunnel. Vehicles had to move in slowly, but it again took only about four minutes to get through the bypass, both eastbound and westbound.

Some drivers appeared unfamiliar with the new route, cutting across two lanes at the last minute to take the bypass from Central to North Point.

Central-Wan Chai Bypass to open as scheduled despite cracks in tunnel ceiling

Albert Wong, 30, set off from his home in Pok Fu Lam at 8.30am on Monday and arrived at his Quarry Bay office 35 minutes later. He ran into a jam on the roads leading to the bypass, though there was no congestion once he was inside.

Last week, it took him only 30 minutes to get to his office using alternative routes. Wong said he would rather take the MTR to work from now on, which would take 50 minutes.

“[It] takes me 10 minutes to park and walk from the car park,” he said. “So timewise, it is not a huge difference.”

A police officer at the Rumsey Street Flyover in Central at about 9am on Monday. Photo Nora Tam

Vicky Chan took about 55 minutes by bus to get from Tuen Mun to North Point on Monday morning via the bypass. She said the ride would take about the same time if the bus did not use the link.

The bus ran into congestion in Sheung Wan before entering the bypass. Previously, it would be stuck in traffic in Wan Chai when it took another route. The difference on Monday was just when it ran into a jam.

“That’s why it took a similar amount of time for me to get to North Point,” she said.

By around 5pm, traffic grew heavy, with vehicles in the tunnel section to Central slowing to a crawl at times. A bottleneck formed at the tunnel exit near IFC.

At 5.15pm, the Transport Department said several roads near the entrances of the bypass, including Connaught Road Central, were busy. It urged motorists to drive with “utmost care” and “patience”.

Rise to the challenge of development, Lam tells Hongkongers, as bypass opens

Before the bypass was built, it normally took about 15 minutes to travel between North Point and Central during non-peak hours, though it could take two to three times as long during peak hours.

The traffic jam on Sunday reportedly lasted about three hours from about 4pm until the evening. At some points, vehicles were stuck in the tunnel for half an hour.

Transport expert Hung Wing-tat said on a radio programme on Monday the bypass was designed to reduce traffic in Central and Wan Chai by 20 per cent.

“Its purpose is for motorists to bypass the busiest districts of Central and Wan Chai if they just want to go between the east and west of Hong Kong Island. About 20 per cent [of the traffic going to Central and Wan Chai] can be taken out from the road network. That would be the most ideal,” he said.

A taxi changes lanes going into the Central-Wan Chai Bypass. Photo: Sam Tsang

With the opening of the bypass, all eastbound traffic lanes on a section of the Rumsey Street Flyover have been permanently closed. The section is expected to be demolished to make way for a new westbound flyover connecting the bypass with highways towards Kennedy Town and West Kowloon.

Before the new westbound lanes are completed, all vehicles must make a U-turn on Connaught Road Central before they can proceed to Sheung Wan or Kennedy Town.

Hung said, however, that if drivers were going to Central, Sheung Wan or Kennedy Town from North Point, they should avoid using the new bypass during peak hours in case of possible congestion.

“The traffic congestion in the bypass on Sunday could have been because the government did not emphasise that today was only the first stage of commissioning … It could take months or up to a year for the flyover to be completed,” the long-time fellow of the Hong Kong Society of Transportation Studies said.

Some members of the public phoned in to the programme and complained that it was wrong to close the eastbound lanes on the Rumsey Street Flyover because that section was used by many commuters working in Central.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Mixed f ortunes during rush h our on bypass
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