78-504: North Lantau Highway is an expressway forming part of Hong Kong's Route 8 , linking Hong Kong International Airport and Lantau Island with the rest of the territory. The road has three lanes in each direction for its entire length with full-width hard shoulders for emergencies and breakdowns. The speed limit is 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph) for most of its length, the highest of any road in Hong Kong. North Lantau Highway
156-663: A dual highway ) in 1932 between Cologne and Bonn . It then rapidly constructed the first nationwide system of such roads. The first North American freeways (known as parkways) opened in the New York City area in the 1920s. Britain, heavily influenced by the railways, did not build its first motorway , the Preston By-pass ( M6 ), until 1958. Most technologically advanced nations feature an extensive network of freeways or motorways to provide high-capacity urban travel, or high-speed rural travel, or both. Many have
234-466: A median separates the opposite directions of traffic. This strip may be as simple as a grassy area, or may include a crash barrier such as a " Jersey barrier " or an "Ontario Tall Wall" to prevent head-on collisions . On some freeways, the two carriageways are built on different alignments; this may be done to make use of available corridors in a mountainous area or to provide narrower corridors through dense urban areas . Control of access relates to
312-707: A cloverleaf and trumpet interchange when it opened in 1937, and until the Second World War , boasted the longest illuminated stretch of roadway built. A decade later, the first section of Highway 401 was opened, based on earlier designs. It has since gone on to become the busiest highway in the world. The word freeway was first used in February 1930 by Edward M. Bassett . Bassett argued that roads should be classified into three basic types: highways, parkways , and freeways. In Bassett's zoning and property law -based system, abutting property owners have
390-498: A design by Mott MacDonald Hong Kong . Rather than tendering the project as a single contract, which would have drawn bids from only the largest international contractors, the Hong Kong government opted to split the expressway into three separate phases that would be more manageable in scale to local companies, thereby drawing a more competitive range of bids. The contract to construct the Tai Ho Section, worth HK$ 3.5 billion,
468-620: A freeway, specialized pedestrian footbridges or tunnels may also be provided. These structures enable pedestrians and cyclists to cross the freeway at that point without a detour to the nearest road crossing. Access to freeways is typically provided only at grade-separated interchanges , though lower-standard right-in/right-out (left-in/left-out in countries that drive on the left) access can be used for direct connections to side roads. In many cases, sophisticated interchanges allow for smooth, uninterrupted transitions between intersecting freeways and busy arterial roads . However, sometimes it
546-434: A larger number of guide signs than other roads, and the signs themselves are physically larger. Guide signs are often mounted on overpasses or overhead gantries so that drivers can see where each lane goes. Exit numbers are commonly derived from the exit's distance in miles or kilometers from the start of the freeway. In some areas, there are public rest areas or service areas on freeways, as well as emergency phones on
624-499: A legal status which limits the types of vehicles that can use a highway, as well as a road design that limits the points at which they can access it. Major arterial roads will often have partial access control , meaning that side roads will intersect the main road at grade, instead of using interchanges, but driveways may not connect directly to the main road, and drivers must use intersecting roads to access adjacent land. At arterial junctions with relatively quiet side roads, traffic
702-527: A milepost system but does not use milepost markers. In Europe and some other countries, motorways typically have similar characteristics such as: Two-lane freeways , often undivided, are sometimes built when traffic volumes are low or right-of-way is limited; they may be designed for easy conversion to one side of a four-lane freeway. (For example, most of the Bert T. Combs Mountain Parkway in eastern Kentucky
780-447: A motorway is understood as a public road with dual carriageways and at least two lanes each way. All entrances and exits are signposted and all interchanges are grade separated. Central barrier or median present throughout the road. No crossing is permitted, while stopping is permitted only in an emergency. Restricted access to motor vehicles, prohibited to pedestrians, animals, pedal cycles, mopeds, agricultural vehicles. The minimum speed
858-777: A national-level or even international-level (e.g. European E route ) system of route numbering . There are several international standards that give some definitions of words such as motorways, but there is no formal definition of the English language words such as freeway , motorway , and expressway , or of the equivalent words in other languages such as autoroute , Autobahn , autostrada , autocesta, autoput , that are accepted worldwide—in most cases these words are defined by local statute or design standards or regional international treaties. Descriptions that are widely used include: One green or blue symbol (like [REDACTED] ) appears at motorway entry in countries that follow
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#1732779806003936-606: A new artificial island being built as part of the controversial Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge project. The connection between the new island and the North Lantau Expressway is actually being built under the Tuen Mun–Chek Lap Kok Link project, a new road tunnel connecting Tuen Mun to the BCF Island. From the new interchange, a two-lane dual carriageway will run on viaducts, over the sea, to
1014-600: A number of patterns. The actual pattern is determined by a number of factors including local topology, traffic density, land cost, building costs, type of road, etc. In some jurisdictions feeder/distributor lanes are common, especially for cloverleaf interchanges ; in others, such as the United Kingdom, where the roundabout interchange is common, feeder/distributor lanes are seldom seen. Motorways in Europe typically differ between exits and junctions. An exit leads out of
1092-624: A park and where intersecting streets crossed over bridges. The Southern State Parkway opened in 1927, while the Long Island Motor Parkway was closed in 1937 and replaced by the Northern State Parkway (opened 1931) and the contiguous Grand Central Parkway (opened 1936). In Germany, construction of the Bonn-Cologne Autobahn began in 1929 and was opened in 1932 by Konrad Adenauer , then
1170-457: A private venture, was the world's first limited-access roadway. It included many modern features, including banked turns , guard rails and reinforced concrete tarmac . Traffic could turn left between the parkway and connectors, crossing oncoming traffic, so it was not a controlled-access highway (or "freeway" as later defined by the federal government's Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices ). Modern controlled-access highways originated in
1248-609: A reduction in deaths in a range from 20% to 50% on those sections. Speed, in Europe, is considered to be one of the main contributory factors to collisions. Some countries, such as France and Switzerland, have achieved a death reduction by a better monitoring of speed. Tools used for monitoring speed might be an increase in traffic density; improved speed enforcement and stricter regulation leading to driver license withdrawal; safety cameras; penalty point; and higher fines. Some other countries use automatic time-over-distance cameras (also known as section controls ) to manage speed. Fatigue
1326-541: A separate roadway or altogether eliminates it. In some parts of the world, notably parts of the US , frontage roads form an integral part of the freeway system. These parallel surface roads provide a transition between high-speed "through" traffic and local traffic. Frequent slip-ramps provide access between the freeway and the frontage road, which in turn provides direct access to local roads and businesses. Except on some two-lane freeways (and very rarely on wider freeways),
1404-510: A similar system of express and local lanes for a maximum width of 21 lanes on a 2-mile (3.2 km) segment between Interstate 805 and California State Route 56 . In Mississauga , Ontario, Highway 401 uses collector-express lanes for a total of 18 lanes through its intersection with Highway 403 / Highway 410 and Highway 427 . These wide freeways may use separate collector and express lanes to separate through traffic from local traffic, or special high-occupancy vehicle lanes , either as
1482-411: A special restriction on the innermost lane or a separate roadway, to encourage carpooling . These HOV lanes , or roadways open to all traffic, can be reversible lanes , providing more capacity in the direction of heavy traffic, and reversing direction before traffic switches. Sometimes a collector/distributor road , a shorter version of a local lane, shifts weaving between closely spaced interchanges to
1560-659: A utility conduit serving the airport containing electricity, water, sewerage, telephone, and raw water connections. There are smaller bridges at Tai Ho Wan and Sham Shui Kok. The Transport Department offers traffic figures at two sections of the North Lantau Highway. The section between the western end of the highway (i.e. Airport Road) and the Tung Chung Eastern Interchange registered annual average daily traffic (AADT) of 54,410 in 2016. The section between Tung Chung and Ngong Shuen Au
1638-494: A water depth of 3 metres (9.8 ft), and the flood extending 500 metres (550 yd) in length, some 20 vehicles were trapped on the scene by the floodwater. Another thousand vehicles were trapped in the resulting traffic jam, extending about 10 km (6.2 mi) back to the toll plaza of Lantau Link . Service was increased on the MTR Tung Chung line and Airport Express to alleviate passenger flow. The highway
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#17327798060031716-537: Is 12.5 kilometres (7.8 mi) in length, beginning at Airport Road on Chek Lap Kok . The road then crosses onto Lantau Island and bypasses Tung Chung New Town . The road then travels along the northern coast of Lantau Island, next to the Airport Express and Tung Chung line of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR). This section is built on reclaimed land and through various cuttings. Finally,
1794-453: Is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway , motorway , and expressway . Other similar terms include throughway or thruway and parkway . Some of these may be limited-access highways , although this term can also refer to a class of highways with somewhat less isolation from other traffic. In countries following
1872-609: Is considered as a risk factor more specific to monotonous roads such as motorways, although such data are not monitored/recorded in many countries. According to Vinci Autoroutes , one third of accidents in French motorways are due to sleepy driving. Tung Chung line The Tung Chung line ( Chinese : 東涌綫 ) is one of the ten lines of the MTR system in Hong Kong , linking the town of Tung Chung with central Hong Kong . It
1950-735: Is controlled mainly by two-way stop signs which do not impose significant interruptions on traffic using the main highway. Roundabouts are often used at busier intersections in Europe because they help minimize interruptions in flow, while traffic signals that create greater interference with traffic are still preferred in North America. There may be occasional interchanges with other major arterial roads. Examples include US 23 between SR 15 's eastern terminus and Delaware, Ohio , along with SR 15 between its eastern terminus and I-75 , US 30 , SR 29 / US 33 , and US 35 in western and central Ohio. This type of road
2028-655: Is necessary to exit onto a surface road to transfer from one freeway to another. One example in the United States (notorious for the resulting congestion) is the connection from Interstate 70 to the Pennsylvania Turnpike ( Interstate 70 and Interstate 76 ) through the town of Breezewood, Pennsylvania . Speed limits are generally higher on freeways and are occasionally nonexistent (as on much of Germany's Autobahn network). Because higher speeds reduce decision time, freeways are usually equipped with
2106-450: Is not lower than 50 km/h [31 mph] and the maximum speed is not higher than 130 km/h [81 mph] (except Germany where no speed limit is defined). Motorways are designed to carry heavy traffic at high speed with the lowest possible number of accidents. They are also designed to collect long-distance traffic from other roads, so that conflicts between long-distance traffic and local traffic are avoided. According to
2184-431: Is provided with separate carriageways for the two directions of traffic). Principal arterials may cross through urban areas, serving suburban movements. The traffic is characterized by high speeds and full or partial access control (interchanges or junctions controlled by traffic lights). Other roads leading to a principal arterial are connected to it through side collector roads. In this view, CARE's definition stands that
2262-407: Is sometimes called an expressway . Freeways are usually limited to motor vehicles of a minimum power or weight; signs may prohibit cyclists , pedestrians and equestrians and impose a minimum speed. It is possible for non-motorized traffic to use facilities within the same right-of-way, such as sidewalks constructed along freeway-standard bridges and multi-use paths next to freeways such as
2340-480: Is specially sign-posted as a motorway and is reserved for specific categories of road motor vehicles." Urban motorways are also included in this definition. However, the respective national definitions and the type of roads covered may present slight differences in different EU countries. The first version of modern controlled-access highways evolved during the first half of the 20th century. The Long Island Motor Parkway on Long Island , New York , opened in 1908 as
2418-545: Is the result of several changes, including infrastructure safety and road user behavior (speed or seat belt use), while other matters such as vehicle safety and mobility patterns have an impact that has not been quantified. Motorways are the safest roads by design. While accounting for more than one quarter of all kilometres driven, they contributed only 8% of the total number of European road deaths in 2006. Germany's Federal Highway Research Institute provided International Road Traffic and Accident Database (IRTAD) statistics for
North Lantau Highway - Misplaced Pages Continue
2496-408: Is two lanes, but work has begun to make all of it four-lane.) These are often called Super two roads. Several such roads are infamous for a high rate of lethal crashes; an outcome because they were designed for short sight distances (sufficient for freeways without oncoming traffic, but insufficient for the years in service as two-lane road with oncoming traffic). An example of such a "Highway to Hell"
2574-629: The Dartford Crossing (the furthest downstream public crossing of the River Thames ) or where it was not economic to build a motorway alongside the existing road such as the former Cumberland Gap . The A1 is a good example of piece-wise upgrading to motorway standard—as of January 2013, the 639-kilometre-long (397 mi) route had five stretches of motorway (designated as A1(M)), reducing to four stretches in March 2018 with completion of
2652-591: The Executive Council approved the detailed planning and design of the Tung Chung line extension project consisting of two new stations. Construction began in May 2023, with the cost of the two new stations expected to be HK$ 24.2 billion in 2023. Tung Chung East is an infill station between Tung Chung and Sunny Bay , while Tung Chung West would be a new underground station west of Tung Chung and serve as
2730-867: The Suncoast Trail along the Suncoast Parkway in Florida . In some US jurisdictions, especially where freeways replace existing roads, non-motorized access on freeways is permitted. Different states of the United States have different laws. Cycling on freeways in Arizona may be prohibited only where there is an alternative route judged equal or better for cycling. Wyoming , the second least densely populated state, allows cycling on all freeways. Oregon allows bicycles except on specific urban freeways in Portland and Medford . In countries such as
2808-629: The Tsing Ma Bridge and the Kap Shui Mun Bridge onto Lantau Island . The line continues along the North Lantau Expressway and stops at Sunny Bay before terminating at Tung Chung. The distance between the two stops is roughly 10 km (6.2 mi) and takes approximately 6 minutes to complete. Some outbound trains do not continue to Lantau but terminate at Tsing Yi station due to the capacity constraint of
2886-538: The United Kingdom new motorways require an Act of Parliament to ensure restricted right of way. Since upgrading an existing road (the "King's Highway") to a full motorway will result in extinguishing the right of access of certain groups such as pedestrians, cyclists and slow-moving traffic, many controlled access roads are not full motorways. In some cases motorways are linked by short stretches of road where alternative rights of way are not practicable such as
2964-424: The United Kingdom , do not distinguish between the two, but others make a distinction; for example, Germany uses the words Kreuz ("cross") or Dreieck ("triangle") for the former and Ausfahrt ("exit") for the latter. In all cases one road crosses the other via a bridge or a tunnel, as opposed to an at-grade crossing . The inter-connecting roads, or slip-roads , which link the two roads, can follow any one of
3042-467: The Vienna convention , the motorway qualification implies that walking and parking are forbidden. A fully controlled-access highway provides an unhindered flow of traffic, with no traffic signals , intersections or property access . They are free of any at-grade crossings with other roads, railways, or pedestrian paths, which are instead carried by overpasses and underpasses . Entrances and exits to
3120-490: The shoulder at regular intervals. In the United States, mileposts usually start at the southern or westernmost point on the freeway (either its terminus or the state line). California , Ohio and Nevada use postmile systems in which the markers indicate mileage through the state's individual counties. However, Nevada and Ohio also use the standard milepost system concurrently with their respective postmile systems. California numbers its exits off its freeways according to
3198-501: The A1(M) through North Yorkshire . The most frequent way freeways are laid out is by building them from the ground up after obstructions such as forestry or buildings are cleared away. Sometimes they deplete farmland, but other methods have been developed for economic, social and even environmental reasons. Full freeways are sometimes made by converting at-grade expressways or by replacing at-grade intersections with overpasses; however, in
North Lantau Highway - Misplaced Pages Continue
3276-480: The BCF Island. The project (including the viaducts, the interchange, and modifications to the North Lantau Highway and Cheung Tung Road) is being built by Hong Kong contractor Gammon Construction for a contract value of HK$ 8.66 billion. The Highways Departments expects this to be complete by 2019. 22°18′51″N 113°59′33″E / 22.3143°N 113.9924°E / 22.3143; 113.9924 Controlled-access highway A controlled-access highway
3354-587: The Tsing Ma Bridge which only allows a maximum of one train per track at all times. This is a list of the stations on the Tung Chung line. List When British Hong Kong was planning to build the Airport Railway (Tung Chung line and Airport Express) in the 1990s, which was a few years before the handover to China , the Chinese government raised concerns about the effect of the project on
3432-409: The US, any at-grade intersection that ends a freeway often remains an at-grade intersection. Often, when there is a two-lane undivided freeway or expressway, it is converted by constructing a parallel twin corridor, and leaving a median between the two travel directions. The median-side travel lane of the old two-way corridor becomes a passing lane. Other techniques involve building a new carriageway on
3510-484: The United States, allow for limited exceptions: some movable bridges , for instance the Interstate Bridge on Interstate 5 between Oregon and Washington , do require drivers to stop for ship traffic. The crossing of freeways by other routes is typically achieved with grade separation either in the form of underpasses or overpasses . In addition to sidewalks (pavements) attached to roads that cross
3588-712: The Vienna Convention. Exits are marked with another symbol: [REDACTED] . The definitions of "motorway" from the OECD and PIARC are almost identical. In the European Union , for statistical and safety purposes, some distinction might be made between motorway and expressway . For instance a principal arterial might be considered as: Roads serving long distance and mainly interurban movements. Includes motorways (urban or rural) and expressways (road which does not serve properties bordering on it and which
3666-793: The bridge. The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge / Dartford tunnel at London Orbital is an example of this. London Orbital or the M25 is a motorway surrounding London , but at the last River Thames crossing before its mouth, motorway rules do not apply. (At this crossing the London Orbital is labeled A282 instead.) A few of the more common types of junction are shown below: There are many differences between countries in their geography, economy, traffic growth, highway system size, degree of urbanization and motorization, etc.; all of which need to be taken into consideration when comparisons are made. According to some EU papers, safety progress on motorways
3744-492: The common European definition, a motorway is defined as "a road, specially designed and built for motor traffic, which does not serve properties bordering on it, and which: (a) is provided, except at special points or temporarily, with separate carriageways for the two directions of traffic, separated from each other, either by a dividing strip not intended for traffic, or exceptionally by other means; (b) does not cross at level with any road, railway or tramway track, or footpath; (c)
3822-530: The construction of a new ventilation building, ARB. Construction is expected to begin in 2025 and to be completed by 2032. Once the North Island line is complete, trains will travel in a tunnel east of Hong Kong station along the shore of the island before merging into the Tseung Kwan O line at North Point . Three new stations - Tamar , Exhibition Centre and Causeway Bay North will form part of
3900-469: The days leading up to the opening, officers of the Agriculture and Fisheries Department rounded up about 30 cattle who had wandered onto the highway during construction, when the perimeter fence was not fully enclosed. The Sunny Bay Interchange came into operation in 2005, allowing traffic to exit the North Lantau Highway onto the new Penny's Bay Highway . This opened up access to Penny's Bay , which
3978-517: The early 1920s in response to the rapidly increasing use of the automobile , the demand for faster movement between cities and as a consequence of improvements in paving processes, techniques and materials. These original high-speed roads were referred to as " dual highways " and have been modernized and are still in use today. Italy was the first country in the world to build controlled-access highways reserved for fast traffic and for motor vehicles only. The Autostrada dei Laghi ("Lakes Motorway"),
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#17327798060034056-406: The expressway. Most of the highway is built on reclaimed land. The fill for the land reclamation came from slope cuttings or marine borrow areas in Hong Kong, or was river sand imported from China. The most significant bridge along the length of the road is located at the very end of the highway, linking Lantau and Chek Lap Kok. This multi-span structure, approximately 320 metres long, also carries
4134-485: The first built in the world, connecting Milan to Lake Como and Lake Maggiore , and now parts of the A8 and A9 motorways, was devised by Piero Puricelli and was inaugurated in 1924. This motorway, called autostrada , contained only one lane in each direction and no interchanges. The Bronx River Parkway was the first road in North America to utilize a median strip to separate the opposing lanes, to be constructed through
4212-412: The first half of the 20th century. Italy was the first country in the world to build controlled-access highways reserved for fast traffic and for motor vehicles only. Italy opened its first autostrada in 1924, A8 , connecting Milan to Varese . Germany began to build its first controlled-access autobahn without speed limits (30 kilometres [19 mi] on what is now A555 , then referred to as
4290-428: The governorship of David Wilson . In the same year, new motorways design standards were introduced in Hong Kong. In 1990, the highway was redesigned to reflect these new standards, and to take into account higher projected usage. The North Lantau Highway, as built, is a three-lane dual carriageway with a gentler grade and curvature than the earlier iteration. Hard shoulders of 3.3 metres are also provided on either side of
4368-544: The harbour, then surfaces to the ground to reach Olympic station . Trains continue to travel above ground along the West Kowloon Expressway and stops at Nam Cheong station , followed by Lai King station on a viaduct. Thereafter the line crosses the Rambler Channel and stops at Tsing Yi station on Tsing Yi Island . Trains then enter a tunnel through the hills of the island and continues on
4446-675: The heart of Kowloon . As part of the initiative, the government invited the MTR Corporation to build a rail link to the new airport. The project initially saw opposition from the Chinese government as it feared the construction would drain the fiscal reserves of the Hong Kong government and leave the Chinese with nothing after the British handed the territory over in 1997 . Both the Chinese and British governments reached an agreement and construction commenced in November 1994. The line
4524-504: The highway are provided at interchanges by slip roads (ramps), which allow for speed changes between the highway and arterials and collector roads . On the controlled-access highway, opposing directions of travel are generally separated by a median strip or central reservation containing a traffic barrier or grass. Elimination of conflicts with other directions of traffic dramatically improves safety, while increasing traffic capacity and speed. Controlled-access highways evolved during
4602-469: The mayor of Cologne . The German Autobahn became the first nationwide highway system. In Canada , the first precursor with semi-controlled access was The Middle Road between Hamilton and Toronto , which featured a median divider between opposing traffic flow, as well as the nation's first cloverleaf interchange . This highway developed into the Queen Elizabeth Way , which featured
4680-400: The motorway system, whilst a junction is a crossing between motorways or a split/merge of two motorways. The motorway rules end at exits, but not at junctions. However, on some bridges, motorways, without changing appearance, temporarily end between the two exits closest to the bridge (or tunnel), and continue as dual carriageways . This is in order to give slower vehicles a possibility to use
4758-623: The new terminus of the Tung Chung Line. This extension is expected to be complete by 2029. The project is will extend the line by an additional 1.3 kilometres. The design contract for the extension was recently awarded to British engineering companies Arup and Atkins. An underground tunnel, around half a kilometer long, will be built eastwards of Hong Kong station . It will allow Tung Chung line and Airport Express trains to turn around so trains can easily switch directions and enhancing operational efficiency. This project would also include
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#17327798060034836-569: The opening of the new KCR West Rail, and it was officially opened to public on 20 December 2003. Since then, the number of cars per train has increased from seven to eight to accommodate the additional patronage. Sunny Bay station opened on 1 June 2005 as an interchange for the Disneyland Resort ;line . The resort opened its door two months after the station became operational. Between 2006 and 2007, four new trains entered service to improve service frequency. The first train
4914-439: The other. Other methods involve constructing a service drive that shortens the long driveways (typically by less than 100 metres (330 ft)). An interchange or a junction is a highway layout that permits traffic from one controlled-access highway to access another and vice versa, whereas an access point is a highway layout where traffic from a distributor or local road can join a controlled-access highway. Some countries, such as
4992-477: The rate is higher than the risk on urban roads. Speeds are higher on rural roads and autobahns than urban roads, increasing the severity potential of a crash. According to ETSC, German motorways without a speed limit, but with a 130 km/h (81 mph) speed recommendation, are 25% more deadly than motorways with a speed limit. Germany also introduced some 130 km/h (81 mph) speed limits on various motorway sections that were not limited. This generated
5070-643: The rights of light , air and access to highways, but not parkways and freeways; the latter two are distinguished in that the purpose of a parkway is recreation, while the purpose of a freeway is movement. Thus, as originally conceived, a freeway is simply a strip of public land devoted to movement to which abutting property owners do not have rights of light, air or access. Freeways, by definition, have no at-grade intersections with other roads, railroads or multi-use trails . Therefore, no traffic signals are needed and through traffic on freeways does not normally need to stop at traffic signals. Some countries, such as
5148-594: The road climbs over Ta Shui Wan and Tsing Chau Wan to meet the Lantau Link and its bridges. The North Lantau Highway was built as part of the Airport Core Programme in the 1990s. The ultimate aim of the new motorway was to connect Hong Kong's urban core with the new international airport (opened 1998) as well as associated new town development in Tung Chung. Construction commenced in June 1992 to
5226-432: The side of a divided highway that has a lot of private access on one side and sometimes has long driveways on the other side since an easement for widening comes into place, especially in rural areas. When a third carriageway is added, sometimes it can shift a directional carriageway by 20–60 metres (50–200 ft) (or maybe more depending on land availability) as a way to retain private access on one side that favors over
5304-493: The territory's fiscal reserves, which eventually forced the Hong Kong government to reduce the cost of the Airport Railway. The resulting changes made to the design imposed limitations on the level of service on the line. In the Railway Development Strategy 2014, it was proposed that the Tung Chung Line be extended west and a new station constructed at Tung Chung West. In April 2020, Carrie Lam and
5382-420: The time of the construction. On 22 June 1998, the Tung Chung line was officially opened by Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa , and service commenced the next day. On 16 December 2003, an open house for charity took place at the recently completed Nam Cheong station , an interchange between the Tung Chung line and soon to be opened West Rail line . The station then closed on 19 December 2003 in preparation for
5460-406: The year 2010, comparing overall fatality rates with motorway rates (regardless of traffic intensity): The German autobahn network illustrates the safety trade-offs of controlled access highways. The injury crash rate is very low on autobahns, while 22 people died per 1,000 injury crashes—although autobahns have a lower rate than the 29 deaths per 1,000 injury accidents on conventional rural roads,
5538-443: Was European route E4 from Gävle to Axmartavlan , Sweden. The high rate of crashes with severe personal injuries on that (and similar) roads did not cease until a median crash barrier was installed, transforming the fatal crashes into non-fatal crashes. Otherwise, freeways typically have at least two lanes in each direction; some busy ones can have as many as 16 or more lanes in total. In San Diego, California , Interstate 5 has
5616-679: Was awarded on 8 June 1992 to the Lantau Expressway Joint Venture, of which Downer Group was the lead contractor. The Yam O Section contract, worth $ 1.328 billion, was awarded on 14 September 1992 to a joint venture comprising Aoki Corporation , Franki Contractors, and Tobishima Corporation. Lastly, the Tung Chung Section contract, worth $ 969.1 million, was awarded on 27 September 1993 to a joint venture composed of China State , Leighton Asia and Hochtief . The expressway opened to traffic on 22 May 1997. In
5694-484: Was built in the 1990s as part of the Airport Railway project, part of the construction of the new Chek Lap Kok Airport . The line currently travels through eight stations in 31 minutes along its route. The line is coloured orange on the MTR system map. In October 1989, the Hong Kong government announced plans to build a new airport on the island of Chek Lap Kok to replace the overcrowded Kai Tak International Airport in
5772-489: Was busier, carrying 66,110 AADT in 2016. Traffic on the highway has increased in recent years. Some residents and legislators have raised concerns that the new Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge (see below) will increase traffic congestion. A new interchange at Tai Ho Wan is under construction. This will connect the North Lantau Expressway to the Border Crossing Facilities Island (BCF Island),
5850-508: Was delivered on 9 February 2006 and entered service on 12 June 2006. Modifications were added to the platforms to accommodate the new trains, which are a few millimetres wider than the original rolling stock. Unlike most other railway lines in the system, the Tung Chung line travels mostly above ground and spans a greater distance. The line shares its trackage with the Airport Express before diverging in Tung Chung. The line travels underground from Hong Kong station to Kowloon station across
5928-495: Was originally named Lantau line but was later renamed Tung Chung line during the construction. The Lantau Airport rail link consists of two train lines, the Tung Chung line and the Airport Express . Both lines deploy the same rolling stock with differences in interior fittings and liveries. The consultants for the Lantau Airport Railway, such as Arup , Halcrow , Meinhardt, Hyder Consulting , and others, at
6006-424: Was partially reopened starting from 4:00 pm that day. An early design for the North Lantau Highway was completed in the early 1980s. It was envisaged as a two-lane dual carriageway "[hugging] the rugged northern coastline of Lantau". However, the plan did not proceed at that time as the airport project was shelved by the government for financial reasons. The Chek Lap Kok airport project was resurrected in 1989 under
6084-423: Was reclaimed mainly for the new Hong Kong Disneyland . On 7 June 2008, North Lantau Highway and its service road , Cheung Tung Road [ zh ] , were completely flooded at Caribbean Coast , Tung Chung at 6am, under rainfall as high as 145 mm (5.7 in) per hour. The highway was forced to close completely, rendering Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok inaccessible by road. With
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