Roads in Kowloon
The first major road network constructed in Kowloon was centred on Tsim Sha Tsui and fanned outwards toward Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon Tong, Kai Tak and onwards to Kwun Tong.
In the early 1970s, the Prince Edward Road Interchange in Kowloon City was completed. Traffic flow in this corridor was further improved with the completion of the Princess Margaret Road Flyover, which was the first precast pre-stressed concrete flyover constructed in Hong Kong. This flyover was reconstructed in the 1980s to further increase the north / south capacity of the junction in part to cope with the substantial increase in traffic originating from the New Territories. The flyover is a key element of Route 1 in Kowloon which extends from the Cross-Harbour Tunnel to the Lion Rock Tunnel and beyond to the New Territories.
Lung Cheung Road and Ching Cheung Road constructed in the 1970s is now part of Route 7, a trunk road linking Tseung Kwan O in the south eastern New Territories to Kwai Chung. This road has been expanded twice from an original two-lane road to the present dual three-lane configuration with grade separation at each of its eight interchanges.
The completion of the elevated East Kowloon Way in 1981 and the Kai Tak Tunnel in 1982 provided better access to Kwun Tong, and the completion in stages of the West Kowloon Corridor between 1987 and end 1996 shortened journey times between Yau Ma Tei and Lai Chi Kok.
The Kwun Tong Bypass was completed in 1991. It connects the Tate's Cairn Tunnel and Tseung Kwan O Tunnel, which opened in 1991 and 1990 respectively, and also the Eastern Harbour Crossing at Cha Kwo Ling, which opened in 1989.
The Hung Hom Bypass was completed in 1999. It links Salisbury Road in Tsim Sha Tsui East with Hung Hom Road in Hung Hom.
A pedestrian subway system with travelators was completed and operated in October 2004 to link between Tsim Sha Tsui Station at Nathan Road and East Tsim Sha Tsui Station at Salisbury Road. This subway system was also extended to link with nearby hotels and commercial buildings to provide direct access for pedestrians so as to minimize their need to cross busy roads at ground level.
Tsing Sha Highway is a 13-km dual three-lane highway connecting Shatin, West Kowloon and Tsing Yi relieving the heavy traffic loading in Lion Rock Tunnel and Tate's Cairn Tunnel. Regarding the Kowloon sections of the Tsing Sha Highway, the Lai Chi Kok Viaduct (as part of the section of Route 8 between Cheung Sha Wan and Shatin) was opened to traffic in March 2008, while the Ngong Shuen Chau Viaduct (as part of the section of Route 8 between Cheung Sha Wan and Tsing Yi) was opened in December 2009.