for this purpose, the tolls for crossing is triple the rates of the Cross-Harbour Tunnel, proving the Western Harbour Crossing ineffective in diverting traffic from the Cross-Harbour Tunnel. Around this time, a new tunnel between North Point and Kowloon Bay was suggested to relieve the stress on the Cross-Harbour Tunnel. However, the Hong Kong government suffered from the East Asian financial crisis in 1997, and all major projects were put on hold. It was not until 2005 that the topic was brought up again, as the Eastern Harbour Crossing (also operated by CITITC Pacific Limited) announced it would increase its toll prices. It was predicted that 1/3 of traffic from the eastern crossing would use the Cross-Harbour Tunnel instead as a result of the price hike, and the influx would certainly be disastrous for the already overloaded tunnel. The call for a fourth tunnel was revived to counter the problem. A new proposal stated that the new crossing would be an immersed tube joining a reclamation site off Hung Hom with Victoria Park in Causeway Bay. The toll booths would be placed at the Kowloon end, and would join Route 5 there. At the Hong Kong Island end there would be a major interchange located under the Victoria Park, connecting with the Island Eastern Corridor. This proposal was deemed the most likely to happen. Demand According to the annual traffic census published by the Transport Department, In 2011, the average daily vehicular traffic crossing the harbour amounted to 247,113 trips, a year-on-year increase of 2.1%. Total trips made amounted to 90.2 million, of which 48.8% was through the Cross Harbour Tunnel (44 million trips), 28.1% through the Eastern Harbour Crossing (25.4 million trips) and 23.0% through the Western Harbour Crossing (20.8 million trips). 40,000 vehicular trips across the harbour were by ferry. Because of its convenient location and its low tolls, the Cross-Harbour Tunnel (CHT) is the most heavily used among all three vehicular tunnels. According to the consultancy report in 2010, the CHT enjoys a daily traffic of approximately 120,000 vehicle-trips, far exceeding the tunnel's design capacity of 78,000 trips per day. At the EHC, also designed to carry 78 000 vehicle trips, the actual daily average number of trips is about 70,000. The WHC and the connecting roads have capacity of 55,000 trips, yet experiences 60,000 vehicle-trips each day (109% of capacity). Fare comparison between tunnels In late