The Yau Ma Tei section of the Central Kowloon Bypass will open to traffic on December 21, slashing travel time from West Kowloon to East Kowloon to five minutes, the Hong Kong government has said.
Chief Executive John Lee announced the news on Wednesday morning while delivering a speech at the International Railway Safety Council Conference at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The 4.7-kilometre section, a dual three-lane carriageway that includes a 3.9-kilometre tunnel, connects the Yau Ma Tei Interchange in West Kowloon to Kai Tak and Kowloon Bay in East Kowloon.
“The Highways Department and its contractors are now at the final stage of works, including conducting final tests on systems and relevant drills,” according to a government press release issued shortly after Lee’s announcement.
The government said that, during peak hours, the new highway would cut travel time from Yau Ma Tei to Kowloon Bay from around 30 minutes to about five minutes.
Construction on the bypass began in December 2017 with an estimated cost of HK$42 billion.
The bypass will charge HK$8 per trip for all vehicles, the government said in July. A previous government proposal suggested a toll of HK$10, but it was retracted after lawmakers said it would be too high.
A future Kowloon Bay section of the bypass, which will comprise what the government calls the “Trunk Road T2” and the Cha Kwo Ling Tunnel, will connect the highway to the Tseung Kwan O-Lam Tin Tunnel to form “Route Six.”
Construction on the Kowloon Bay section of the bypass has been underway since 2019, with an estimated cost of HK$11 billion.
The Kowloon Bay section is expected to be completed in 2026.
