Cross-Harbour Tunnel

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Toll plaza of Cross Harbour Tunnel at Hung Hom

Kowloon Entrance of XHT

The area around the entrance of the Cross Harbour Tunnel at the Island side in the 1970s, when the tunnel was being constructed.

The Cross-Harbour Tunnel (abbr. CHT or XHT; Traditional Chinese: }) is the first tunnel in Hong Kong that was built under water. It connects Hong Kong Island and Kowloon at respectively Kellett Island (a former island now connected to Hong Kong Island by reclamation) and a reclaimed site at Hung Hom Bay.

Opened in 1972, the 1.8km-long Cross Harbour Tunnel provides a road link between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island, making it possible to drive directly to and from the island. Prior to the tunnel's opening, cross-harbour vehicular traffic depended solely upon ferries. With the tunnel linking the main financial districts on both sides of Victoria Harbour, it became the busiest route in Hong Kong and among the busiest tunnels in the world, with (as of March 2005) 121,700 vehicles using it daily. It was administered by The Cross-Harbour Tunnel Company Ltd until August 1999, when the operation franchise agreement expired and the government assumed control.

Even though two other road tunnels, namely Eastern Harbour Crossing and Western Harbour Crossing, have been built to cross the Victoria Harbour since this one, traffic has not improved. This is probably because the locations of the other two tunnels were not as convenient as this one, and more importantly, the tolls for crossing either of the other two tunnels were sufficiently more expensive. The Hong Kong government is currently looking at the possibility of a fourth harbour crossing to relieve the traffic here.

Transport

• Kowloon Motor Bus/New World First Bus: 101, 101R, 102R, 104, 106, 109, 110, 111, 112, 112S, 113, 115, 115P, 116, 116S, 301, 305
• Kowloon Motor Bus/Citybus: 102, 102P, 103, 107, 107P, 117, 117R, 118, 118P, 118R, 170, 171, 171P, 182, 182P, 807
• Kowloon Motor Bus: 108, 336
• Overnights: N102, N118, N121, N122, N170, N171, N182

See also

• Tunnels and bridges in Hong Kong

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