A van flipped on its side after crashing into the roadside ditch before entering Guia Hill Tunnel from Zape yesterday evening, the authorities said.
The driver of the van, which did not have any passengers, was slightly injured.
The accident happened shortly before 6 p.m. when the van was heading towards the entrance of the tunnel from Avenida do Dr. Rodrigo Rodrigues, according to reports by the Fire Services Bureau (CB) and the Public Security Police (PSP).
The van ploughed into a speed limit sign post ending up in the roadside ditch. The 300-metre-long tunnel has a speed limit of 40 kilometres per hour.
According to the reports, the driver, a 28-year-old male non-resident worker who sustained abrasions to his right forearm, was taken to the private Kiang Wu Hospital for treatment. There was no follow-up information by the authorities on his condition.
The accident caused a major traffic jam as traffic police officers were investigating the crash and firefighters were cleaning the oil spill caused by the accident.
Vehicles can choose to travel to Avenida de Horta e Costa or Avenida de Sidónio Pais after coming out of the tunnel on the other side of the hill. The two-lane vehicular tunnel under Guia Hill has been in use since 1990.
A government project to build a tunnel for pedestrians under the hill connecting Zape and the Avenida de Horta e Costa neighbourhood got off the ground early this month.
The entrance to the Guia Hill pedestrian tunnel on the Zape side will be located near the Caltex petrol station in Avenida do Dr. Rodrigo Rodrigues, while its entrance on the other side of the hill will be located in Flora Garden.
The government has said that after the pedestrian tunnel is completed, the walking distance between the two sides will be shortened to about 400 metres from the current 1,100 metres.
This map released by the Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) earlier this year shows the Guia Hill pedestrian tunnel project (indicated by the yellow line) which will connect Avenida do Dr. Rodrigo Rodrigues in Zape (the green area at the bottom) and Flora Garden (the green area at the top). The project also includes two footbridges across Avenida do Dr. Rodrigo Rodrigues, one from the tunnel’s entrance to Rua de Malaca and the other to near an undeveloped plot between the Jai Alai casino-hotel complex and Casa Real Hotel.
