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(SYRR). The economic costs of a highway project comprised construction cost andeconomic land cost. The latter reflected the opportunity cost to the society ofdiverting the land required for the project away from its best alternative use. Theeconomic benefits of having a highway project in piace generally consisted ofpassenger time and vehicle operating cost savings due to reduced travel distanceand increased traffic speed.Environmental Considerations6.4.4 It is not possible to treat the environmental aspects of new highways, for instancetraffic noise, air pollution, visual intrusion, fully in a strategic study such as CTS-2.Analysis of these impacts requires detailed studies taking into account localconditions and design details which are not yet known. Nevertheless, candidatehighway projects were classified according to the degree of environmental sensitivityand additional construction costs were included for works to ameliorate traffic noiseimpacts. It is recognised that more should be done to investigate environmentalimpacts, but this is the task of the detailed feasibility studies required for eachrecommended project (see paragraph 6.10.15).Computer Testing6.4.5 The evaluation of highway projects was carried out in a sequence of computer tests,refining the highway strategy at each stage. The sequence of tests is described inChapter 2.Evaluation Results6.4.6 Table 6.3 summarises the construction cost and economic evaluation result for eachof the highway projects recommended for inclusion in the transport investmentprogramme. Traffic operation analysis results in terms of daily flows and V/C ratiosin the morning peak hour are also shown in the table.6.4.7 For the purpose of CTS-2, projects having an economic Single Year Rate of Returngreater than 4% are considered worthwhile projects for investment. The economicanalysis was carried out for the year 1996 for evaluation purposes. Rather thanreporting specific values, returns are classified in Table 6.3 as follows:SYRRLow below 4%Medium 4%-8%High above 8%6.5 RouteSOnly the evaluation of major highway projects is presented in this chapter./6.5.1 Route 3 refers to the north-south trunk route starting from the western end of HongKong Island and routed through West Kowioon, Kwai Chung and Tsing Yi up toYuen Long. It consists of several major sections including Western HarbourCrossing, West Kowioon Expressway, Kwai Chung and Tsing Yi section and the YauKom Tau to Yuen Long section.Route 3 (Western Harbour Crossing)6/5.2 The Western Harbour Crossing (WHC) is a proposed 6-lane tunnel connecting the'/ West Kowioon Reclamation with the western end of Hong Kong Island. It isexpected to carry 26% of all cross-harbour traffic in 1996 at a V/C ratio of 0.6,increasing to 39% in 2001 at a V/C ratio of 1.0. Most of the growth in cross-harbourtraffic between 1996 and 2001 is expected to occur on the WHC.103