Aberdeen Tunnel

Aberdeen Tunnel

Inside of northbound bore.
Overview
Other name(s)	香港仔隧道
Location	Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong
Coordinates	22°15′39″N 114°10′52″E / 22.26086°N 114.18108°ECoordinates: 22°15′39″N 114°10′52″E / 22.26086°N 114.18108°E
Route	Route 1
Start	Wong Chuk Hang
End	Happy Valley
Operation
Opened	March 12, 1982[1]
Owner	Hong Kong Link
Operator	Transport Infrastructure Management Ltd.
Character	Limited-access
Toll	HK$5
Vehicles per day	64,114 (May 2015)[2]
Technical
Length	1.9 kilometres (1.2 mi)
Number of lanes	4
Operating speed	70 kilometres per hour (43 mph)

Aberdeen Tunnel, Happy Valley entrance

Toll plaza

Aberdeen Tunnel (Chinese: 香港仔隧道; pinyin: Xiānggǎngzǎi Suìdào; Cantonese Yale: heung1 gong2 jai2 seui6 dou6) is a two-tube tunnel linking Happy Valley and Wong Chuk Hang near Aberdeen on the Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It shortens the travel time between Wong Chuk Hang and Causeway Bay of the Hong Kong Island. It connects the Wong Chuk Hang Road and Canal Road Flyover in the Hong Kong Island. The toll plaza is at the Wong Chuk Hang end.

The toll is HK$5.^[1] The tunnel is 1.9 kilometres (1.2 mi) long^[1] and was used by 64,114 vehicles daily in 2015.^[2]

Aberdeen Tunnel is currently managed by Transport Infrastructure Management Limited.

History

A tunnel was planned in the long-term development plan for Aberdeen approved by the Governor-in-Council in 1964.^[3][4][5] Support for the tunnel grew following the closure of the Wong Nai Chung Gap by landslides.^[5] In 1970, Aberdeen kaifong leaders and industrialists called on the government to build the tunnel.^[6] A pilot tunnel was dug in the mid-1970s to examine underground rock conditions.^[7] Official approval for the full project, comprising the tunnel and the Canal Road flyover extension, was granted in late 1975.^[8] The opening of the tunnel was much delayed by both difficult tunneling conditions, and the late arrival of communications equipment from overseas.^[9] The contractor was Dragages Hong Kong.^[10]

The tunnel opened on 12 March 1982. From the very beginning, the tunnel suffered from congestion at the approach roads.^[11][12] In 1991, the toll was raised from $3 to $5.^[13]

The Aberdeen Tunnel's operations and management were privatised in 1991. It was contracted out to the Cross Harbour Tunnel Company initially.^[14] Tunnel management was contracted out to Serco Group (HK) Ltd. on 29 September 1998, and then to Transport Infrastructure Management Ltd. on 29 September 2014.^[2]

Bus routes

Bus routes that go via the tunnel:

• New World First Bus: 38, 42, 42C, 65, 590, 590A
• Citybus: 6A, 6X, 37A, 37B, 37X, 70, 70M, 70P, 72, 72A, 75, 77, 90, 90C, 96, 97, 99, 99X, 107, 107P, 170, 171, 171A, 171P, 260, 592, 629, 629A, 629S, 671, N72, N90, N170, N171
• Public light bus: 4A, 4B, 4C, 35M, 36X, 39M, 40, 69, 69X

Underground laboratory

The Aberdeen Tunnel Underground Laboratory between the two tunnel tubes was appended by the University of Hong Kong during construction. The laboratory facilitates particle physics research.

Current developments

The South Island Line, a new Mass Transit Railway (MTR) link scheduled to open in 2016, will roughly parallel the Aberdeen Tunnel. Upon commissioning, it is expected that seven per cent of peak hour Aberdeen Tunnel traffic will divert to the new railway.^[15]

See also

• Tunnels and bridges in Hong Kong
• List of streets and roads in Hong Kong

References

1. "Transport in Hong Kong - Tunnels and Bridges". Transport Department of the Government of Hong Kong. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
2. "Table 3.2(b) : Aberdeen Tunnel" (PDF). Monthly Traffic and Transport Digest. Transport Department. May 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
3. "Aberdeen tunnel planned". South China Morning Post. 30 March 1963. p. 1.
4. "New Town Centre On Reclaimed Isthmus In Aberdeen". South China Morning Post. 12 April 1963. p. 6.
5. "Tunnel link 'vital' to Aberdeen". South China Morning Post. 23 July 1971. p. 4.
6. "Aberdeen wants tunnel to Wanchai". South China Morning Post. 23 April 1970. p. 9.
7. "Aberdeen tunnel plan gets $2m more". South China Morning Post. 15 January 1975. p. 24.
8. Choi, Barry (29 October 1975). "Go-ahead for tunnel at Aberdeen, flyover". South China Morning Post. p. 10.
9. Chugani, Michael (1 February 1982). "Watchdogs monitor Aberdeen Tunnel progress". South China Morning Post. p. 8.
10. "Aberdeen Tunnel". Dragages Hong Kong Limited. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
11. Gaffney, Ann (19 March 1982). "Roadblocked by old problems in new tunnel". South China Morning Post. p. 22.
12. "Drivers delayed at new tunnel". South China Morning Post. 16 March 1982. p. 11.
13. "Tunnels put tolls up to $5". South China Morning Post. 30 March 1991. p. 3.
14. Godfrey, Paul (19 February 1992). "Jobs at risk as tunnels go private". South China Morning Post. p. 3.
15. "LCQ4: Traffic congestion along the link roads to the Aberdeen Tunnel". Legislative Council. 10 June 2009