Special traffic and transport arrangements for Hong Kong Marathon 2021
The Transport Department (TD) today (October 18) reminded the public that temporary road closures will be implemented at various locations in phases from 11.30pm this Saturday (October 23) to about 4.30pm this Sunday (October 24) to facilitate the holding of the Hong Kong Marathon 2021.
This year, the full and half marathon races will start at the southern end of Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui and the 10-kilometre race will start at the Western Harbour Crossing (WHC) Toll Plaza while the finishing point of all three races will be located at Victoria Park.
The full marathon race will route through major road sections including Nathan Road (from Tsim Sha Tsui to Argyle Street Section), Argyle Street, Lin Cheung Road, West Kowloon Highway, Stonecutters Bridge, Nam Wan Tunnel, Ting Kau Bridge, Cheung Tsing Tunnel, Tsing Kwai Highway, the WHC, Connaught Road West flyover, Lung Wo Road, Expo Drive, Convention Avenue, Lockhart Road, Percival Street, Hennessy Road, Yee Wo Street, Sugar Street, and finish at Victoria Park. The half marathon race route will follow that of the full marathon race from the starting point at Nathan Road to Lin Cheung Road with the turning point at Tsing Kwai Highway and then rejoin the full marathon race route at West Kowloon Highway. The 10km race will make use of the road sections from the WHC to Victoria Park, same as that of the full and half marathons.
According to the race arrangements, road closures and traffic diversions will be implemented in phases at various locations on Hong Kong Island, in Kowloon and the New Territories starting from 11.30pm on Saturday. Owing to the use of the northbound carriageway of Nathan Road between Tsim Sha Tsui and Argyle Street, and the southbound carriageway of Nathan Road between Tsim Sha Tsui and Gascoigne Road flyover and Argyle Street as the race route for the full and half marathons, the road closure in Yau Tsim Mong area will be extensive. At the same time, public transport services in these areas will also be subject to extensive adjustments. Members of the public heading to Mong Kok, Jordan and Tsim Sha Tsui are advised to use railway services.
Since the full marathon will use the Kowloon-bound carriageways of Cheung Tsing Highway, Cheung Tsing Tunnel and Nam Wan Tunnel as the race route, vehicles on Lantau Link (Tsing Ma Bridge) heading to Kowloon will be diverted to use North West Tsing Yi Interchange, Tsing Yi North Coastal Road, Tsing Tsuen Road, Tsuen Wan Road, Kwai Chung Road, Cheung Sha Wan Road and Lai Chi Kok Road. It is anticipated that the traffic conditions along North Lantau Highway, Tsing Ma Bridge and the vicinity of North West Tsing Yi Interchange may be congested.
The road closures will not affect vehicles from Hong Kong Island/Kowloon/New Territories East heading for the Hong Kong International Airport and Lantau Island. Due to the closure of Kowloon-bound carriageway of Ting Kau Bridge, motorists travelling from New Territories West to the Airport and Lantau Island via Tuen Mun Road or Tai Lam Tunnel will be diverted to use Tsuen Wan Road, Tsuen Tsing Interchange, Tsing Tsuen Road, Tsing Tsuen Bridge and Tsing Yi North Coastal Road to enter Tsing Ma Bridge.
The Kowloon-bound tube of the WHC will remain in operation, while the Hong Kong-bound tube of the WHC will be temporarily closed from 12.45am on Sunday and the re-opening will be subject to the progress of races. Motorists in Kowloon West heading for Hong Kong Island are advised to use the Cross-Harbour Tunnel or Eastern Harbour Crossing.
Similar to the Hong Kong Marathon 2019, Yee Woo Street eastbound in Causeway Bay will be closed and used as the race route. Public transport services operating along Yee Wo Street (in the direction of North Point) will be diverted to use Percival Street, Leighton Road and Pennington Street on the race day. The Wan Chai North exits from the Central – Wan Chai Bypass Tunnel will be closed for most of the race time. Traffic from Central heading to Wan Chai North will be diverted to use Connaught Road Central, Harcourt Road and Gloucester Road.
In connection with the road closures for the races, about 230 bus routes and 40 green minibus routes will be diverted, truncated or suspended in phases from 11.15pm on Saturday until the re-opening of roads on Sunday. Affected bus routes include cross-harbour routes using the WHC; routes on Hong Kong Island operating in Central and Western District, Wan Chai and Causeway Bay areas; routes in Kowloon operating along Nathan Road, Argyle Street, Shanghai Street, Jordan Road and other roads in Yau Tsim Mong area; as well as routes operating via Ting Kau Bridge, Cheung Tsing Highway, Cheung Tsing Tunnel and Nam Wan Tunnel. The following bus termini will also be suspended:
- Three bus termini on Hong Kong Island: Expo Drive East Bus Terminus, Wan Chai North Temporary Public Transport Interchange and Central Ferry Piers Bus Terminus; and
- Two bus termini in Kowloon: China Hong Kong City Public Transport Interchange and Mong Kok (Park Avenue) Bus Terminus.
To enable participants to go to the starting point at Nathan Road for the full and half marathon races with the earliest starting times from 5.45am and 6am respectively, as well as the participants to go to the WHC Toll Plaza for the 10km race with the earliest starting time from 5.45am, the first departures of eight rail lines of MTR services will be advanced suitably on Sunday, with the earliest trains on the Tuen Ma Line and East Rail Line to be operated at 3.25am.
In addition, five special bus services, namely Route No. R230, R260 and R269 from Tsuen Wan, Tuen Mun and Tin Shui Wai respectively to Tsim Sha Tsui, and Route No. R930 and R969 from Tsuen Wan and Tin Shui Wai respectively via the WHC Toll Plaza, will also be operated to serve event participants going to the respective starting points at Nathan Road and the WHC Toll Plaza on Sunday.
During the road closure period, bus stops, taxi stands, taxi pick-up/drop-off points, public light bus/green minibus stands, roadside parking spaces and private car parks within the closed roads and its vicinity will be suspended subject to situation.
The commencement time of the pedestrian precinct on Chater Road in Central as well as Lockhart Road, East Point Road and Great George Street in Causeway Bay will be postponed to 3pm on Sunday or upon the re-opening of the major roads on Hong Kong Island.
Taxi and public light bus drivers who go to Wan Chai North for gasoline refilling are advised to take note of the road closures in the area.
Members of the public heading for Hong Kong Station and Kowloon Station of the Airport Express Line are advised to plan their journey early to avoid any delays caused by road closures and traffic diversions.
The TD anticipates that the traffic at various locations on Hong Kong Island, in Kowloon and the New Territories will be more significantly congested when compared with normal Sundays, including:
- Hong Kong Island: Victoria Park Road, Leighton Road, Hennessy Road, Gloucester Road, Queensway, Connaught Road Central, Aberdeen Tunnel (Wan Chai bound) and Central Ferry Pier areas;
- Kowloon: Nathan Road and its vicinity, Argyle Street, Wylie Road, Gascoigne Road flyover, West Kowloon Corridor and Cross-Harbour Tunnel (both bounds), with the chance of long traffic queues along Gascoigne Road flyover and West Kowloon Corridor in particular being very high; and
- New Territories: Lantau Link (Kowloon bound) and North West Tsing Yi Interchange.
Motorists are advised to avoid driving to the above affected areas. In case of traffic congestion, motorists should exercise patience and drive with care, and follow the instructions of the Police on site.
Members of the public should plan their journeys early and use alternative travelling routes to avoid unexpected delays, and take railway services as far as possible. Public transport users are advised to pay attention to the arrangements of route diversions and changes of stop locations.
Other ad-hoc traffic and public transport measures, including adjusting the extent of road closures, traffic diversions, alterations and suspensions of public transport services may be implemented by the Police on site at short notice depending on the actual traffic and crowd conditions. The TD and the Police will closely monitor the traffic situation and implement appropriate measures whenever necessary. Members of the public are advised to stay alert to the latest traffic news through the media.
For information about the special traffic and transport information, members of the public may call 1823 Call Centre, browse the TD's website at www.td.gov.hk or make use of the TD's "HKeMobility" mobile application.