It’s a nightmare, but there’s no way around it — sometimes, the only way to get to HK Island or Kowloon is through the Cross Harbour Tunnel, which has become one of the most congested roads in the world. Now, with the government shelving plans to redistribute traffic by adjusting the tolls, drivers will have to put up with at least three more years of honking and creeping at a snail’s pace at the notoriously jammed Cross Harbour Tunnel.
Transport minister said 2017 would be a better time to reconsider these plans when the government regains ownership of the Eastern Harbour Tunnel from the franchise operator. It is also the year the new waterfront bypass linking Wan Chai and Central will open, increasing the capacity of the Western Harbour Tunnel.
However, critics and transport specialists say that the government is just looking for excuses not to act. Traffic is so bad at Hung Hom tunnel that the number of vehicles going through it actually dropped to its lowest in 25 years, because drivers simply could not tolerate the congestion any longer — though that’s still 30 percent above the tunnel’s capacity.
Hey, how about lowering the obscenely expensive tolls at the Western Harbour? As a reader pointed out, when all tunnel tolls were set at HK$20 in 2005 there was no traffic whatsoever even during rush hour. This is certainly a case of pathetic leadership!
Source: SCMP
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
