The road then travels along the northern coast of Lantau Island, next to the Airport Express and Tung Chung line of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR).

The ultimate aim of the new motorway was to connect Hong Kong's urban core with the new international airport (opened 1998) as well as associated new town development in Tung Chung.

[3] The contract to construct the Tai Ho Section, worth HK$3.5 billion, was awarded on 8 June 1992 to the Lantau Expressway Joint Venture, of which Downer Group was the lead contractor.

Lastly, the Tung Chung Section contract, worth $969.1 million, was awarded on 27 September 1993 to a joint venture composed of China State, Leighton Asia and Hochtief.

[1] In the days leading up to the opening, officers of the Agriculture and Fisheries Department rounded up about 30 cattle who had wandered onto the highway during construction, when the perimeter fence was not fully enclosed.

The highway was forced to close completely, rendering Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok inaccessible by road.

Another thousand vehicles were trapped in the resulting traffic jam, extending about 10 km (6.2 mi) back to the toll plaza of Lantau Link.

[9] The fill for the land reclamation came from slope cuttings or marine borrow areas in Hong Kong, or was river sand imported from China.

The section between the western end of the highway (i.e. Airport Road) and the Tung Chung Eastern Interchange registered annual average daily traffic (AADT) of 54,410 in 2016.

The project (including the viaducts, the interchange, and modifications to the North Lantau Highway and Cheung Tung Road) is being built by Hong Kong contractor Gammon Construction for a contract value of HK$8.66 billion.