On the 28th, when the full-fledged Lunar New Year holiday began, traffic congestion continued in both directions in the Jamwon IC section of Seoul on the Gyeongbu Expressway. The photo has nothing to do with the article. [이충우 기자]Underground roads will be built in the Hwaseong-Seoul section of the Gyeongbu Expressway, which is a habitually congested section, and some sections of the Gyeongin Expressway and the 1st Ring Expressway in the metropolitan area.
In addition, additional expressways are installed in the Yeongwol-Samcheok, Yeongdong-Jincheon, and Seongju-Daegu sections, which will shorten travel time between regions and improve highway accessibility.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 28th that it had finalized the ‘Second Highway Construction Plan’ (2021-2025) containing these contents after deliberation by the Road Policy Deliberation Committee.
The second plan included 37 highway projects with a total value of 55 trillion won, including 19 new projects and 18 expansions, focusing on the four tasks of ▲ balanced regional development ▲ traffic congestion relief ▲ logistics industry support ▲ preparation for inter-Korean cooperation.
First of all, in the section from Hwaseong to Seoul (32.3 km) south of Yangjae IC on the Gyeongbu Expressway, a project to expand the road capacity by building a new road (tunnel) under it while leaving the existing above-ground expressway as it is. The project cost is 3,2051 billion won.
The Yangjae IC to Hannam IC section of the Gyeongbu Expressway is managed by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and the Seoul Metropolitan Government is currently conducting a separate undergroundization service. The exact starting and ending points of the underpass will be determined after consultation between the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
In addition, the government decided to build an underground road in the Incheon-Seoul section of Gyeongin Expressway (19.3 km) and the Toegyewon-Pangyo section (31.5 km) of the Seoul Metropolitan Area 1 at a cost of KRW 2.41 trillion and KRW 4.486 trillion, respectively.
The plan is to review the plan to strengthen the public transportation service support function of expressways by expanding bus-only lanes on existing overground roads where there is room for capacity due to the construction of underpasses.
In addition, road capacity expansion projects in 18 traffic-congested sections, including the Cheongseong-Dongi section of the Gyeongbu Expressway (12.3 km) and the Gimcheon-Nakdong section of the Jungbu Naeryuk Expressway (24.0 km), were also included in the second plan.
A new expressway project in the Geumcheon-Hwasun section (18.6km) to complete the circulation network in the Gwangju and Honam metropolitan areas and alleviate traffic congestion is also planned.
In addition, the government decided to build expressways in the sections Yeongwol-Samcheok (91.0km), Muju-Seongju (68.4km), and Seongju-Daegu (18.3km) to expand the arterial roads in the east-west direction, which are relatively incomplete compared to the north-south direction.
The Yeongdong-Jincheon section (75.2km) highway will be constructed between the Jungbu Line and the Jungbu Inland Line (average separation distance of 73km) in the Chungcheong region, which exceeds the average spacing of the national highway network (about 30km).
The Wando-Gangjin Expressway Project (37.5km) was also included in the second plan to provide access to expressways within 30 minutes from southern Jeollanam-do, such as Wando-gun, Haenam-gun, and Gangjin-gun.
In addition, Ochang to Goesan (51.8 km) to improve accessibility to Cheongju International Airport, Gumi to Gunwi (24.9 km) in preparation for the relocation of the new Daegu-Gyeongbuk new airport, and Geoje to Tongyeong (30.5 km) to revitalize the Okpo National Industrial Complex ) section of the highway project is also promoted.
Seoul-Yeoncheon section (50.7km) project to prepare for inter-Korean cooperation and respond to traffic demands in the northern region of the capital region, such as the development of Yangju new town, and Pocheon-Cheorwon (40.4km), Chuncheon- Projects for the Cheorwon (63.2 km) and Sokcho-Goseong (43.5 km) sections are also being considered.
For the projects included in this second plan, the government will prioritize future key projects and conduct preliminary feasibility studies, followed by follow-up procedures such as feasibility studies and design.
Eight projects include ▲ Gimhae-Miryang ▲ Yeongdong-Jincheon ▲ Yeongwol-Samcheok ▲ Seongju-Daegu ▲ Wando-Gangjin ▲ Toegyewon-Pangyo (Seoul Metropolitan Area 1st Ring Line) ▲ Hwaseong-Seoul (Gyeongbu Line) ▲ Incheon-Seoul (Gyeongin Line) to be.
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