Route 1 (Hong Kong)

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Route 1
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Route 1 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Highways Department
Length21.1 km (13.1 mi)
20.6 km (12.8 mi) southbound
Existed1966 (Princess Margaret Road)–present
Major junctions
South endAberdeen Praya Road in Aberdeen
Major intersections
North end Route 9 (Tai Po Road) in Fo Tan
Location
CountryChina
Special administrative regionHong Kong
DistrictsSouthern, Central and Western, Wan Chai, Yau Tsim Mong, Kowloon City, Wong Tai Sin, Sha Tin
Highway system
Route 11 Route 2

Route 1 (Chinese: 一號幹線) is a major artery in Hong Kong that runs in a generally north-south direction, connecting Aberdeen with Sha Tin.

The route is heavily congested, notably on the Canal Road viaduct that links the Aberdeen Tunnel with the Cross-Harbour Tunnel in Causeway Bay.[1] Route 1 continues to serve as the most direct route from the north shore of Hong Kong Island to the Southern District. The road travels across the harbour and runs through the middle of Kowloon and continues heading north into the New Territories.

Route

[edit]

Southern District

[edit]

The route begins at the eastern end of Aberdeen Praya Road [zh] outside Ocean Court. Beyond the starting point, the road continues along the Hong Kong Island coast towards Tin Wan and Pokfulam. Immediately after the starting point, the route intersects with Ap Lei Chau Bridge at a trumpet interchange, providing the sole road connection to the eponymous island.

Route 1 continues along Wong Chuk Hang Road, with a short viaduct over the intersection with Nam Long Shan Road [zh]. At the end of the viaduct, there is another trumpet interchange connecting Ocean Park. The route then enters a T-interchange, where Wong Chuk Hang Road diverges from Route 1 and continues towards Repulse Bay and Stanley. Route 1 instead heads northeast towards Aberdeen Tunnel, the only highway tunnel connecting northern and southern Hong Kong Island. After passing through the toll plaza, the route enters the southern tunnel portal.

Wan Chai District

[edit]

Upon leaving the tunnel, traffic runs on the Wong Nai Chung Gap Flyover [zh][a] after exiting the tunnel at Happy Valley, running above Wong Nai Chung Road. At this point, a diamond interchange connects Wan Chai and Causeway Bay with Route 1 via Queen's Road East and Leighton Road.

Route 1 then continues into the Canal Road Flyover, with another pair of on/off-ramps outside Times Square accessible from the north. It then descends to the ground level into Wan Chai Interchange, a complete interchange intersecting with Gloucester Road (part of Route 4 before 2019), allowing traffic to head west into Admiralty and Central; or eastwards to Tin Hau and further onto the Island Eastern Corridor.

The route then heads into the Cross-Harbour Tunnel, the first underwater road crossing across the Victoria Harbour. The Central-Wan Chai Bypass (current route of Route 4) passes directly beneath the southern portal, but is not connected to Route 1.

Kowloon

[edit]

Upon reaching Kowloon, Route 1 passes through the toll plaza and bus interchange of the Cross-Harbour Tunnel, situated between Hung Hom station and the Polytechnic University. It then merges into Hong Chong Road [zh], a short trunk road that ends at the junction with Chatham Road North (Route 5), where traffic to/from the Cross-Harbour Tunnel is connected with both directions of Route 5 via ramps laid out in a trumpet interchange fashion. Immediately after this junction, Route 1 is joined by traffic from Chatham Road South and Hung Hom Bypass [zh].

At this point, route 1 continues to head north on Princess Margaret Road, between the neighborhoods of King's Park and Ho Man Tin. It intersects with Fat Kwong Street at a partial cloverleaf interchange. Continuing northwards, it travels over Argyle Street via an overpass, before merging into Waterloo Road which originates from Yau Ma Tei. It then reaches another overpass across Prince Edward Road West and Boundary Street, which are single-directional arterial roads stretching across Kowloon in the westbound and eastbound directions respectively. At here, traffic from Sham Shui Po can switch to both directions of Route 1; southbound traffic on Route 1 can also exit and head towards Mong Kok or Kowloon City.

Route 1 then continues northwards, cutting through the middle of Kowloon Tong. The stretch between Flint Road and Suffolk Road is the only section of the route that is not a controlled-access highway, with numerous signal-controlled intersections. After Suffolk Road, Route 1 enters a 650m-long overhead viaduct, allowing grade separation from the ground-level intersections with Junction Road and Cornwall Street [zh].

After leaving Kowloon Tong, Route 1 climbs a steep, curvy incline to reach a partial clover interchange with Lung Cheung Road (Route 7), where ramps allow traffic from both directions of Route 7 to merge into Route 1 towards the north. Route 1 then heads into the 1.4km-long Lion Rock Tunnel, travelling under Lion Rock and heading into the New Territories.

Sha Tin

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After passing through the toll plaza at the northern end of the tunnel, Route 1 continues into Lion Rock Tunnel Road, continuing in a northeastern direction roughly along the eastern edge of the Sha Tin New Town. It then intersects with Hung Mui Kuk Road at a trumpet interchange, which continues into Tai Wai. After passing Sun Tin Wai Estate, Route 1 then runs along Sha Tin Road, diverging from Lion Rock Tunnel Road which heads into Sha Tin town centre instead.

The remaining 3 km section along Sha Tin Road is the only expressway section of Route 1. At Sha Tin Wai, the Sha Lek Highway splits off, heading towards an interchange with Route 2 towards Ma On Shan or Kowloon East. This is immediately followed by a diamond interchange with Sha Tin Wai Road. The route then turns northwards, passing by City One with a partial diamond interchange leading onto Tai Chung Kiu Road. It then crosses over the Shing Mun River via the 500m-long Dragon Bridge.

Across the river, Route 1 reaches another partial diamond interchange with Yuen Wo Road [zh], accessible from the northern side. It then joins Tai Po Road - Sha Tin at Fo Tan, where the traffic continues northwards via Route 9 towards Tai Po and Fanling. On the northbound direction, Route 1 continues along Tai Po Road for another 250m as the outermost vehicular lane, reaching another exit ramp towards Penfold Park before merging into Route 9.

History

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Route 1 was established in January 2004 when the third generation of route numbers came into use, replacing the old system which had been used since 1974.[citation needed]

Future

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Expansion of Lion Rock Tunnel

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The Highways Department has proposed to enlarge the existing Lion Rock Tunnel and widen its connecting roads,[2] in order to refurbish the tunnels which has shown signs of aging and deterioration, as well as to help alleviate congestion around the tunnel and adjacent sections of Route 1.[3]

Upon completion, the existing southbound tube will be refurbished and widened to three lanes, and a new three-lane tube will be constructed between the existing tubes, taking over the northbound traffic. The existing northbound tube (Second Lion Rock Tunnel) will be taken out of regular use, and serves as a backup carriageway during emergencies.[4] In addition, the section of the Lion Rock Tunnel Road from the Sha Tin portals to Fung Shing Court will be widened from two to three lanes in both directions. To the south of the tunnel, the two slip roads connecting Lung Cheung Road to / from the east (Wong Tai Sin direction) will be widened from one to two lanes.[3]

The project is currently expected to start construction by 2025 and projected to be fully open by 2033.[5]

Trunk Road T4

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The proposed Trunk Road T4 [zh], which is currently under design works,[6] will be connected to the Route 1. Diverging from Sha Tin Road to the west outside Pok Hong Estate, the new route would cross the Shing Mun River and merge into Tsing Sha Highway (Route 8) and Shing Mun Tunnels (Route 9). In addition, an entrance slip road from Lion Rock Tunnel Road outside Tsang Tai Uk towards northbound Sha Tin Road will be built.[6] Construction is expected to start in late 2023.[7]


Exit list

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DistrictLocationkm[8]miExitDestinationsNotes
SouthernAberdeen0.00.0Aberdeen Praya Road - Aberdeen, Pok Fu LamSouthern terminus
0.0–
0.2
0.0–
0.12
1Ap Lei Chau Bridge
Wong Chuk Hang0.20.121AHeung Yip RoadSouthbound only
0.40.25Yip Kan StreetYip Kan Street to southbound only
0.5–
1.1
0.31–
0.68
2Wong Chuk Hang Road to Nam Long Shan Road
1.2–
1.3
0.75–
0.81
3Ocean Park Road
1.4–
2.0
0.87–
1.2
4Wong Chuk Hang Road / Nam Fung RoadNo access to/from southbound
2.11.3Aberdeen Tunnel Toll Plaza
Southern
Wan Chai
Wong Chuk Hang
Happy Valley
2.3–
4.2
1.4–
2.6
Aberdeen Tunnel
Wan ChaiMorrison Hill4.3–
4.9
2.7–
3.0
5Wong Nai Chung RoadTo/from Route 1 northbound only
East Point5.33.35ACanal Road West / Canal Road EastTo/from Route 1 southbound only
5.4–
5.9
3.4–
3.7
6Gloucester Road - Central, Wan Chai
Victoria Park Road - Tin Hau, North Point, Kowloon East
Wan Chai
Yau Tsim Mong
East Point
Hung Hom Bay
6.0–
7.8
3.7–
4.8
Cross-Harbour Tunnel
Yau Tsim MongHung Hom8.15.0Cross-Harbour Tunnel Toll Plaza
8.25.1Hong Chong RoadHong Chong Road to northbound Route 1 only
8.45.26ASalisbury RoadSouthbound only
6BRailway ApproachSouthbound only
6C Route 5 west (Chatham Road North)Route 1 northbound to Route 5 westbound
8.65.36D Route 5 east (Chatham Road North)Route 1 northbound to Route 5 eastbound
No. 12 Hill9.05.67APrincess Margaret RoadTo/from Route 1 northbound only
7BPrincess Margaret Road LinkTo from Route 1 northbound only
Kowloon City9.1–
9.4
5.7–
5.8
7DChi Man StreetSouthbound only
Yau Tsim Mong9.35.87CWylie RoadNorthbound only
Kowloon City9.76.07EChung Man StreetSouthbound only
Ho Man Tin10.06.28Man Fung Path / Sheung Hing Street to Pui Ching RoadNo access to Route 1 southbound from Pui Ching Road westbound
Princess Margaret Road to Argyle StreetTo/from southbound Route 1 only
11.06.88AWaterloo Road
Boundary StreetBoundary Street to Route 1 southbound only
8BPrince Edward Road WestSouthbound only
Kowloon Tong8CWaterloo Road
8DFlint RoadSouthbound exit only
9Essex Crescent / Lancashire RoadNorthbound only
12.07.59ARutland Quadrant / Durham RoadSouthbound only
9CHereford RoadNo access from Hereford Road to Route 1 northbound
York RoadYork Road to Route 1 northbound only
9ENorfolk RoadNorthbound exit only
9FWaterloo Road to Cornwall Street / Junction Road
13.08.19GWaterloo Road / Ede RoadEde Road to Route 1 northbound only
10A Route 7 west (Lung Cheung Road)Route 7 westbound to/from Route 1 northbound
Kowloon CityWong Tai Sin10B Route 7 east (Lung Cheung Road)Route 7 eastbound to/from Route 1 northbound
Kowloon City
Sha Tin
Kowloon Tsai
Tai Wai
14.0–
15.0
8.7–
9.3
Lion Rock Tunnel/Second Lion Rock Tunnel
Sha TinTai Wai15.09.3Lion Rock Tunnel Toll Plaza
16.09.911Hung Mui Kuk Road
Sha Tin17.010.611ALion Rock Tunnel Road / Che Kung Miu Road / Tai Chung Kiu RoadTo/from Route 1 southbound
18.011.211BSha Lek HighwayTo/from Route 1 southbound
19.011.812Sha Tin Wai Road
20.012.412AFo Tan Road / Tai Chung Kiu RoadTo/from Route 1 southbound
Fo Tan21.013.012BSha Tin Road to Yuen Wo RoadTo/from Route 1 southbound
Route 9 north (Tai Po Road) – Tai Po, FanlingNorthern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Notes

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  1. ^ Despite its name, the flyover is located more than 2 km northwest of Wong Nai Chung Gap, at the intersection of Wong Nai Chung Gap Road and Repulse Bay Road.

References

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  1. ^ "LCQ4: Traffic congestion along the link roads to the Aberdeen Tunnel". Information Services Department. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  2. ^ "Improvement of Lion Rock Tunnel". Highways Department. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Legislative Council Panel on Transport: 876TH – Improvement of Lion Rock Tunnel Design and Site Investigation" (PDF). Legislative Council of Hong Kong. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  4. ^ "獅隧原北行隧道轉備用 形同「曬太陽」 議員斥浪費珍土" (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Oriental Daily News. 16 December 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  5. ^ "擴闊獅隧料2033年完工 南北行各3線行車 設隔音屏障保文物" (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Oriental Daily News. 28 January 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Trunk Road T4 and Associated Works". Civil Engineering and Development Department. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  7. ^ "T4號主幹路今刊憲招標 預計工程明年第4季展開" (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Oriental Daily News. 16 December 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  8. ^ OpenStreetMap contributors. Route 1 (Map). OpenStreetMap. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
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