Lion Rock Tunnel
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The Lion Rock Tunnel (Traditional Chinese: 獅子山隧道) is a twin-bored toll tunnel in Hong Kong, connecting Sha Tin in the New Territories and New Kowloon near Kowloon Tong. It has two lanes in each direction, with toll booths located at the Sha Tin end. It is a vital component of Route 1.
The Lion Rock Tunnel was opened on November 14, 1967, as a 1.43 km dual-one single bore tunnel. The conception of this tunnel is often described as a by-product, as there was a need at that time to build a water supply tunnel through the range of hills separating New Kowloon and the rest of the New Territories, as part of the Plover Cove scheme.
The government later saw the need for another road link between New Kowloon and Sha Tin when it decided to develop the latter as a new town. The Second Lion Rock Tunnel, which is 1.41 km long and situated to the west of, and lying parallel to, the old tunnel, was opened to traffic on January 18, 1978.
The new tunnel serves northbound traffic towards Sha Tin, while the old one serves southbound traffic towards Kowloon. Traffic in both directions share one of the tunnels when the other undergoes maintenance works.
