Central-Wan Chai Bypass
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| Part of Route 4 | |
| Route information | |
| Maintained by Highways Department | |
| Length: | 4 km (2 mi) |
| Major junctions | |
| East end: | Fortress Hill |
| West end: | Sheung Wan |
| Location | |
| Districts: | Eastern, Wan Chai, Central and Western |
| Highway system | |
| Hong Kong Strategic Route and Exit Number System | |
The Central–Wan Chai Bypass is a four-kilometre trunk road, currently under construction, running between Sheung Wan and Fortress Hill on Hong Kong Island. The original design consists of a 2.3 km dual three-lane tunnel running under new reclamation areas which will be provided by Central and Wan Chai Reclamation project, and also connections to Connaught Road West flyover and Island Eastern Corridor. When completed, it will substitute Connaught Road Central, Harcourt Road, Gloucester Road and Victoria Park Road to be part of Route 4.
The project, originally estimated to cost $28 billion, was approved by the Legislative Council finance committee in 2009, following a "decade of objections and legal challenges" from environmentalists and citizens concerned by further reclamation of Victoria Harbour. An Environmental Permit was issued under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance and construction began the same year.
Lawmakers were "shocked" in 2013 by cost overruns. The Transport and Housing Bureau requested $8 billion in extra funding, bringing the total bill to $36 billion. Gary Fan, a member of LegCo's transport panel, asked: "Did the government deliberately underestimate the cost in order to get Legco to pass it?" The government bureau blamed unforeseen geotechnical difficulties as well as fluctuating labour and materials costs for the 28 per cent budget increase.
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Wikipedia