Harcourt Roadis a majorhighwayinAdmiralty,Hong Kong,connectingCentralandWan Chai.It starts atMurray Roadand ends at Arsenal Street.[1]The road is 780 metres in length and has four lanes of traffic on either side. The section of Harcourt Road westbound betweenRodney StreetandCotton Tree Drivefeatures afrontage road.
 Harcourt Road in November 2011, buildings includeBank of America Tower(Left) | |
| Native name | Hạ khác đạo(Yue Chinese) |
|---|---|
| Namesake | Cecil Harcourt |
| Location | Admiralty,Hong Kong |
| East end | Gloucester Road |
| West end | Connaught Road Central |
 | |
| Harcourt Road | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | Hạ khác đạo | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | Hạ khác đạo | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
History
editIn the early 1840s when Hong Kong was colonized, the present-day Admiralty was planned to be of military use, the navy situated at the seafront and the army back on the hillside. That leaves in-between a rather large, elongated piece of land. In the 1870s, theAdmiralty Dockwas built on that stretch of land. Prior to its construction, the then governor,Sir Arthur Kennedydiscussed the possibility of running a narrow public road through this land with the military officials but was rejected to protect military secrecy.Kennedy Roadin theMid-Levelswas built as a replacement. Then for decades numerous attempts by different governors negotiating on this matter failed.
After World War II, the navy strength of the British Empire in the far east diminished, hence this piece of land containing the Admiralty Dock amongst others was returned to the government. The Admiralty dock finally ceased operating in November 1959 and was demolished soon after. Due to the rapid development of Central and Wan Chai, traffic congestions occurs frequently in the area and diverting traffic uphill toKennedy Roadis inconvenient.
So after thereclamationof parts of the dock, Harcourt Road was built and opened to public in 1961 to ease these problems. It was named afterCecil Harcourtof theRoyal Navywho received Hong Kong fromJapanafterWorld War II,on 7 April the same year. Harcourt Road was once a waterfront promenade. The road has serious safety problems; 13 car accidents happened at the same curve of the road within six months. Hence on 13 August 1962, a speed limit was placed that traffic cannot exceed 35 km/h when passing that curve; this happened to be the first speed limit all over Hong Kong.
In January 2019, theCentral–Wan Chai Bypassopened, providing a parallel expressway route to Harcourt Road,Gloucester Road,Victoria Park RoadandConnaught Road Central.[2]
Harcourt Road Flyover
editThe Harcourt Road Flyover at the western part of the road opened on 19 April 1966.[3]To link Harcourt Road withQueen's Road EastandGarden Road,the Albany Nullah was decked over and a new road built called Kapok Drive (now Cotton Tree Drive). These flyovers and slip roads opened in the late 1960s.[4][5]
Events
edit
From 28 September 2014 to 11 December 2014, theUmbrella Revolutiontook place. Harcourt Road, near to theAdmiralty station,GovernmentandLegislative Council Complex,transformed intoUmbrella Square,was occupied for 79 days by pro-democracy protesters.[6]
On 12 June 2019,protesterstook place on Harcourt Road to oppose the extradition bill to China.[7]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Yanne, Andrew; Heller, Gillis (2009).Signs of a Colonial Era.Hong Kong University Press.p. 73.ISBN9789622099449.
- ^Phila Siu (18 February 2019)."Hong Kong's Central-Wan Chai Bypass to fully open on February 24 after month-long first-stage operations".South China Morning Post.Retrieved23 June2021.
- ^"Harcourt Road Flyover opens on Tuesday".South China Morning Post.16 April 1966. p. 6.
- ^"Flyover To Garden Road Open To Traffic Tomorrow".South China Morning Post.3 August 1967. p. 6.
- ^"Slip road opens tomorrow".South China Morning Post.4 May 1968. p. 5.
- ^DeWolf, Christopher (30 March 2015)."A Revolution in Place".Urbanphoto.Retrieved6 May2015.
- ^Claire Huang (12 June 2019)."Hong Kong protests: At least 72 people taken to hospital during clashes with police".The Straits Times.Retrieved23 June2021.
External links
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| Preceded by Gloucester Road |
Hong Kong Route 4 Harcourt Road |
Succeeded by Connaught Road Central |