Hong Kong Marathon traffic disruption to be worse this year due to new race routes, officials warn

The Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon to be held this Sunday will cause more “significantly congested” traffic in the city’s Yau Tsim Mong district than in previous years due to new race routes, authorities have warned.

More roads will be closed in Tsim Sha Tsui and Jordan and all the way north to Mong Kok early on Sunday morning, while traffic jams are anticipated around the Cross-Harbour Tunnel in Hung Hom, particularly on the West Kowloon Highway and Gascoigne Flyover, as the 20th anniversary edition of the city’s biggest mass-participation event for the first time sees runners head down to Mong Kok via Nathan Road.

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“We suggest citizens opt for underground public transport if they plan to travel to districts close to the routes, given that we expect to see much heavier traffic this year with a couple of new marathon routes coming up,”said Yuen Miu-chun, senior transport officer with the Transport Department.

The organising committee is said to have fought for more than a year to get the green light for the new race routes, which are set to add an extra 1,000 runners to bring the total to 74,000 by eliminating a bottleneck on Canton Road.

Special traffic arrangements will see a number of roads closed starting from the early hours of Sunday, including the southbound section of the West Kowloon Highway, Argyle Street, the Western Harbour Tunnel, Nathan Road, and Hennessy Road.

They will reopen depending on the actual finishing time of the race, according to police and transport officials.