Route 1 () 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. 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, runs through the middle of Kowloon, and continues north into the New Territories.
Route
Southern District
The route begins at the eastern end of outside Ocean Court, and follows the Hong Kong Island coastline 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 . 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 continues northeast towards Aberdeen Tunnel – the only highway tunnel connecting northern and southern Hong Kong Island. After passing through the toll gates, the route enters the southern portal of Aberdeen Tunnel.
Wan Chai District
Upon leaving the tunnel, traffic runs along the 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. 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 onto 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 at the Wan Chai 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 Central-Wan Chai Bypass (current route of Route 4) passes directly beneath the southern portal of the tunnel, but is not connected to Route 1.
Kowloon
Upon reaching Kowloon, Route 1 passes through the toll gates and bus interchange of the Cross-Harbour Tunnel, situated between Hung Hom station and the Polytechnic University. It then merges into , a short trunk road that ends at the junction with Chatham Road North (Route 5), where traffic to/from the Cross-Harbour Tunnel connects 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 .
At this point, Route 1 continues to head north on Princess Margaret Road, between the neighbourhoods 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 from the Yau Ma Tei end. It then reaches another overpass across Prince Edward Road West and Boundary Street, which are single-directional arterial roads stretching across Kowloon westbound and eastbound, respectively. From here, traffic travelling from Sham Shui Po can access 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 650 metre long overhead viaduct, allowing grade separation from the ground-level intersections with Junction Road and .
After leaving Kowloon Tong, Route 1 climbs a steep, curvy incline to reach a partial cloverleaf interchange with Lung Cheung Road (Route 7), where ramps allow traffic traffic travelling in both directions of Route 7 to merge into Route 1 towards the north. Route 1 then heads into the 1.4 km long Lion Rock Tunnel, travelling under Lion Rock, and heading into the New Territories.
Sha Tin
After passing through the toll gates at the northern end of the tunnel, Route 1 continues in a northeasterly direction along Lion Rock Tunnel Road, roughly along the eastern edge of the Sha Tin New Town. It then intersects with Hung Mui Kuk Road at a trumpet interchange, which leads to Tai Wai. After passing the Sun Tin Wai Estate, Route 1 runs along Sha Tin Road, diverging from Lion Rock Tunnel Road which leads to Sha Tin town centre.
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 diverges from Route 1 heading towards the 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 500 metre long Dragon Bridge.
Across the river, Route 1 reaches another partial diamond interchange with , 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 side, Route 1 continues along Tai Po Road for another 250 metres as the outermost vehicular lane, reaching another exit ramp towards Penfold Park before merging into Route 9.
History 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.
Future
Expansion of Lion Rock Tunnel
The Highways Department has proposed to enlarge the existing Lion Rock Tunnel, and widen its connecting roads, in order to refurbish the tunnels which has have deteriorated through age, as well as to help alleviate congestion around the tunnel and adjacent sections of Route 1.
Upon completion, the existing southbound portal will be refurbished and widened to three lanes, and a new three-lane portal will be constructed between the portals for carrying northbound traffic. The existing northbound portal (Second Lion Rock Tunnel) will be mothballed for emergency use. 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.
Construction is expected to commence in 2025, and the project is forecasted to be fully open by 2033.
Trunk Road T4
The proposed , which is currently in the design stage, 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, a slip road from Lion Rock Tunnel Road outside Tsang Tai Uk towards the northbound carriageway of Sha Tin Road will be built. Construction is expected to start in late 2023.
Exit list
Notes
References
External links Route diagram by Transport Department