Opened on Sunday, the Tseung Kwan O and Lam Tin Tunnel and the Cross Bay Link were welcomed by residents for relieving over 20 years of traffic jams.

"It took me only 10 minutes from LOHAS Park to APM, the shopping mall in Kwun Tong," according to a passenger catching a taxi through the tunnel.

Tam, a resident who lives near the newly-launched Cross Bay Link, said he will start to travel through the bridge instead of the Tseung Kwan O Tunnel, citing only 20 minutes needed to arrive at his working place in Kowloon Bay.

Once congested Cha Kwo Ling Road of TKO-LT Tunnel bound yesterday afternoon also showed orderly traffic flow in the morning.

"More than one-quarter of traffic volume of the existing Tseung Kwan O Tunnel was diverted to the new tunnel-and-bridge road," Commissioner for Transport Rosanna Law Shuk-pui said in a radio programme on Monday.

She added the Bureau has installed more video screens on the road showing the traffic situation to provide clear guides for commuters.

The Tseung Kwan O-Lam Tin tunnel is a new trunk road linking Tseung Kwan O and the urban area, with a total length of about 3.8 kilometers, connecting the Cross Bay Link and Po Shun Road in the east, the Eastern Harbour Crossing, Cha Kwo Ling Road in Kwun Tong, and the Trunk Road T2 under construction in the west.

The Cross Bay Link is approximately 1.8km, linking the Tunnel and Wan Po Road adjacent to LOHAS Park.

Five new franchised bus routes, including KMB and NWFB, started today to provide services in the morning and evening peak times from Mondays to Fridays, except public holidays.