Tai Po Road - Tai Wai (大埔公路－大圍段) is a section of Tai Po Road, extending northwards from Lion Rock Tunnel Road and Sha Tin Centre Street to Tai Wai Road in the south. Nearly the entire route lies beneath the Tsing Sha Highway flyover.
KMB has prefixed all bus stops along Tai Po Road with TA21.
History[]
Tai Po Road - Tai Wai is a section of Tai Po Road constructed in the 1920s. In 1968, Tai Po Road was subdivided into several sections[1], with the Tai Wai section then forming part of the Sha Tin section, connecting to the Sha Tin Ridge section at the 49-mile milestone.[Remark 1] In 1981, the authorities proposed further subdividing the section west of Lai Chi Yuen into the Tai Wai section, which was implemented on 18 December of that year.[2]
Tai Po Road - Tai Wai originally featured a level crossing connecting Lion Rock Tunnel Road and Tai Po Road - Sha Tin. On 14 June 1978, this was replaced by an overpass, with the former level crossing alignment becoming today's Chung Ling Road and Chung Ling Lane.[3] From the late 1980s onwards, the section underwent significant alterations due to the construction of the Shing Mun Tunnels, Shing Mun Tunnel Road and Tsing Sha Highway, losing its connection to other sections of Tai Po Road.
In 1990, with the opening of Shing Mun Tunnel Road, Tai Po Road – Sha Tin Section was rerouted to connect with this highway and elevated to form part of a major trunk road. The original section connecting to Tai Wai was converted into a one-way southbound slip road[Remark 2], significantly diminishing its importance.
Between 2004 and 2009, to facilitate the construction of the T3 trunk road of the Tsing Sha Highway, Tai Po Road - Tai Wai required multiple partial temporary closures. Affected routes were diverted, with the section near Tung Lo Wan Village temporarily converted to one-way westbound traffic, requiring eastbound vehicles to use Chung Ling Road instead. Additionally, the section of Tai Po Road near Mei Fung House, Mei Lam Estate, was originally one-way eastbound with a "Mei Lam" bus stop and westbound traffic had to use Tai Wai Road. However, this section of Tai Po Road was permanently demolished due to the Tsing Sha Highway project, requiring eastbound traffic to also use a short section of Tai Wai Road, and as a result, the original "Mei Lam" bus stop was relocated to "Mei Fung House Mei Lam Estate" stop on Tai Wai Road. Concurrently, the footbridge connecting Tai Po Road to the Sha Tin Heights section was demolished and the aforementioned southbound slip road within the Tai Po Road - Sha Tin was permanently closed (later converted into a cycling path), rendering the Tai Wai section an isolated section of Tai Po Road. For the detailed changes of routes, see articles Mei Fung House Mei Lam Estate, Mei Fai Street, Tung Lo Wan Village, Chung Ling Road and Shing Chuen Road.
Currently, Tai Po Road – Tai Wai comprises two distinct sections: one situated beneath the Tsing Sha Highway viaduct (hereinafter referred to as the Tai Wai section main road), and another connecting to Sha Tin Heights Road (hereinafter referred to as the Tai Wai section branch road). These two roads were originally continuous, but the central section was severed due to the construction of the Tsing Sha Highway. Historically, Tai Po Road – Tai Wai Section formed a crossroads with Chik Wan Street, which now connects solely to the Tai Wai section branch road, which has been converted into a roundabout. An additional slip road has been constructed to link northbound Tsing Sha Highway, but it does not connect to the Tai Wai section main road. Currently, only residents' bus routes NR818 and NR840 operate via this slip road.
The southern end of Tai Po Road - Tai Wai formerly featured an en-route stop named Tai Wai New Village, comprising a pair of northbound and southbound stops. Following the Tsing Sha Highway project, the northbound stop became part of the Tsing Sha Highway[Remark 3], while the southbound stop disappeared entirely. Nevertheless, KMB retained the prefix "TA21" for the northbound stop, derived from Tai Po Road.
Consequently, all vehicles travelling between Tai Po Road - Sha Tin Heights and the Tai Wai section must now use Tsing Sha Highway. Northbound vehicles must turn left opposite Exit 1 (Mei Fung House, Mei Lam Estate) and travel a short distance along Mei Tin Road, while southbound vehicles proceed directly to Tsing Sha Highway near the Shing Chuen Road junction. All vehicles travelling between Tai Po Road - Sha Tin and Tai Wai section must detour via Sha Tin Rural Committee Road and the inner streets of Sha Tin Central.
Bus stops[]
Only bus stops located at the Tai Po Road - Tai Wai main road are listed.
| Bus stops along Tai Po Road - Tai Wai (from south to north) | |
|---|---|
| Northbound stop | Southbound stop |
| Tai Wai Road | |
| Shing Mun Tunnel Road | |
| Mei Tao House | Mei Lam Estate |
| Shing Ho Road | |
| Chung Ling Road (entrance) | |
| / | Tung Lo Wan Village |
| Tsing Sha Highway (southbound slip road of T3 Trunk Road) | |
| Tung Lo Wan Village | / |
| Slip road of Shing Wan Road | |
| Chung Ling Road (exit), Shing Chuen Road | |
| Lion Rock Tunnel Road, Sha Tin Centre Street | |
There were also following en-route stops located on Tai Po Road - Tai Wai in the past:
- Mei Lam: A one-way eastbound stop located off Mei Fung House, Mei Lam Estate on Tai Po Road - Tai Wai (that road section has been demolished), i.e. the present-day "Mei Fung House Mei Lam Estate" stop;
- Tai Wai San Tsuen: The road section where the stop is located has now been incorporated into Tsing Sha Highway since 2008, however KMB has still used the prefix for Tai Po Road for the bus stop.
Gallery[]
Remarks[]
- ↑ At that time, milestones were counted from the southern end of Nathan Road, through Nathan Road, Castle Peak Road and Tai Po Road, totalling 52½ miles in clockwise direction. However, Nathan Road was later excluded from the calculation, so the 3-milestone at Castle Peak Road was generally used as the starting point. The 49-milestone is located off Kowloon Riding School (near present-day The Met. Acappella).
- ↑ At that time, an additional flyover was constructed on Chung Ling Road to connect to the eastbound carriageway of the Shing Mun Tunnel Road, compensating for the inability to turn left from Tai Po Road - Tai Wai towards the Sha Tin section. However, this flyover was demolished in 2007 due to the construction of the Tsing Sha Highway.
- ↑ It is the only bus stop on Tsing Sha Highway and Route 8 outside the toll plaza.
Related articles[]
- Tai Po Road
- Tsing Sha Highway
- Tai Wai Road
References[]
- ↑ G.N. 2268: "New Territories Municipal Councils: Naming of Streets", Hong Kong Government Gazette, Vol. 110, No. 50, 8 November 1968
- ↑ G.N. 3741 (New Territories Home Affairs Department: Naming of Streets), Hong Kong Government Gazette, Vol. 123, No. 51, 18 December 1981
- ↑ "港島灣仔及沙田大埔道 週三起採取新交通措施" (New traffic measures to be implemented at Wan Chai on HKI and Tai Po Road in Sha Tin), Wah Kiu Yat Po, 13 June 1978.