Tate's Cairn Tunnel is a four-lane road tunnel in Hong Kong. Constructed as part of

Route 2 The following highways are numbered 2. For roads numbered A2, see list of A2 roads. For roads numbered B2, see list of B2 roads. For roads numbered M2, see list of M2 roads. For roads numbered N2, see list of N2 roads. International * AH2, As ...

, it links

Diamond Hill Diamond Hill is a hill in the east of Kowloon, Hong Kong. The name also refers to the area on or adjacent to the hill. It is surrounded by Ngau Chi Wan, San Po Kong, Wong Tai Sin and Tsz Wan Shan. Its northeast is limited by the ridge. It i ...

New Kowloon New Kowloon is an area in Hong Kong, bounded in the south by Boundary Street, and in the north by the ranges of the Eagle's Nest, Beacon Hill, Lion Rock, Tate's Cairn and Kowloon Peak. It covers the present-day Kwun Tong District and Wong Tai ...

with Siu Lek Yuen,

Sha Tin Sha Tin, also spelt Shatin, is a neighbourhood along Shing Mun River in the eastern New Territories, Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the Sha Tin District. Sha Tin is one of the neighbourhoods of the Sha Tin New Town project. The ...

New Territories East New Territories East is the eastern part of New Territories, covering North, Tai Po, Sha Tin, and Sai Kung District. History All districts except Sai Kung District have been connected by the Kowloon–Canton Railway (now East Rail line) since it ...

. It opened on 26 June 1991. Its

toll plaza A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or '' toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemen ...

is situated on the Sha Tin side, leading to Tate's Cairn Highway,

Sha Lek Highway Sha Lek Highway (), opened on 26 June 1991, is a section of expressway in Sha Tin District, New Territories, Hong Kong. It runs 1.5 km from Tate's Cairn Highway in Siu Lek Yuen to Sha Tin Road and Sha Tin Wai Road and has a speed limit of 8 ...

and various local roads. The tunnel joins the Kwun Tong Bypass and is connected with Lung Cheung Road and

Hammer Hill Road A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as wi ...

and several local roads on the Kowloon side. Tate's Cairn Tunnel is the third longest road tunnel in the New Territories and in Hong Kong, and the second longest over land, with the northbound tube having a length of and southbound tube having a length of , after Tuen Mun–Chek Lap Kok Tunnel (at ) and

Lung Shan Tunnel The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of th ...

() – It was the longest when it opened.

History

Construction of the Tate's Cairn Tunnel, begun in July 1988, was carried out by a joint venture between Gammon Construction and Nishimatsu. Nishimatsu built the tunnel and the two ventilation buildings, while Gammon constructed the approach roads and buildings. The tunnel opened to traffic at 8:00 pm on 26June 1991. It was reported that traffic in the Lion Rock Tunnel dropped 20 per cent during the Tate's Cairn Tunnel's first day of operation. The tunnel was formally inaugurated by Governor David Wilson on 1July that year.

Franchise model

The Tate's Cairn Tunnel is a BOT (build, operate, transfer) infrastructure project funded 100% by the private sector. The BOT franchise was awarded to the Tate's Cairn Tunnel Company Limited for a period of 30 years by the

Hong Kong Government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the executive authorities of Hong Kong SAR. It was formed on 1 July 1997 in accordance with the Sino- ...

in 1988.Annual Report 2011
Tate’s Cairn Tunnel Company Limited Under the terms of the BOT, the franchisee is responsible for the construction and operation of the tunnel until the end of the franchise period. During the franchise period, the company was allowed to earn a reasonable but not excessive return through the collection of tolls. The statutory requirements to the company were defined by the Tate's Cairn Tunnel Ordinance. Upon the expiration of franchise at midnight of 11July 2018, the tunnel is now transferred to the government.

Tunnel tolls

Tolls are collected manually or electronically in both directions at the toll plaza on the Sha Tin side.

Notes

Tunnel facilities

*dual-tube, 4-laned *9 manual toll booths and 5 autotoll booth *24 cross passages *160 fire alarms *156 emergency telephones *320 fire extinguishers *82 hose reels *78 hydrants *18,268 fluorescent tubes *3,277 tunnel wall panels *44 CCTVs inside tunnel tubes *10 CCTVs outside tunnel tubes *16 ventilation fans

References

External links

Tate's Cairn Tunnel Company

* {{HK routes, r2; Diamond Hill New Kowloon Toll tunnels in Hong Kong Siu Lek Yuen China Resources NWS Holdings Tunnels completed in 1991 Route 2 (Hong Kong) Road tunnels in Hong Kong 1991 establishments in Hong Kong