Highways Clearing Up Congestion on Return Trip... Smooth Traffic Flow

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] On the evening of the 19th, major highways nationwide mostly cleared up the congestion on the homecoming routes, showing smooth traffic flow.

According to Korea Expressway Corporation, as of 9:10 PM that day, the Gyeongbu Expressway heading toward Busan is congested only in the 2 km section between Jamwon and Seocho. The Seoul-bound direction is smooth with no traffic jams along the entire route.

Vehicles are also mostly moving at normal speeds on the Seohaean Expressway, the Metropolitan Area 1st Ring Expressway, and the Yeongdong Expressway.

At 10 PM that day, the estimated travel times by passenger car from Seoul Tollgate to major cities nationwide are 4 hours 30 minutes to Busan, 4 hours 10 minutes to Ulsan, 3 hours 30 minutes to Daegu, 3 hours 20 minutes to Gwangju, 1 hour 30 minutes to Daejeon, and 2 hours 40 minutes to Gangneung.

The Expressway Corporation forecasted that the nationwide traffic volume on the day before Chuseok, the 20th, would be 4.05 million vehicles. It is predicted that 390,000 vehicles will move from the metropolitan area to local regions, and 410,000 vehicles will move from local regions to the metropolitan area.

Congestion in the homecoming direction is expected to start around 6 to 7 AM, peak between 11 AM and 12 PM, and clear up around 7 to 8 PM. The return direction is expected to be relatively smooth.