[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyungsoo] On the afternoon of the 20th, a day before Chuseok, traffic congestion on highways nationwide in the direction of returning home is easing.
According to Korea Expressway Corporation, as of 4 p.m. that day, vehicles are moving slowly in the 4 km section from Hannam to Seocho on the Gyeongbu Expressway heading toward Busan.
In the direction of Seoul, vehicle movement is slow around 16 km sections including Cheongju to Oksan, Anseong Junction to Namsa, and near Yangjae to Banpo.
On the Seohaean Expressway heading toward Seoul, vehicles are not moving at normal speed in a total of 28 km sections including near Dangjin to Seohae Bridge, Seopyeongtaek Junction to near Seopyeongtaek Junction, and Bal-an to Hwaseong. Traffic flow toward Mokpo is relatively smooth.
On the Capital Region 1st Circular Expressway, in the direction of Guri, vehicles are congested in the 13 km sections from Suraksan Tunnel to Sapaesan Tunnel and Jungdong to Songnae, and in the direction of Ilsan, vehicles are congested in the 3 km section near Sorae Tunnel to Songnae.
On the Yeongdong Expressway, traffic flow is smooth toward Gangneung, while congestion is occurring in the 17 km sections including near Jinbu to Jinbu 2 Tunnel and near Teokpyeong to Yangjae Tunnel in the direction of Incheon.
On the Jungbu Expressway, the 2 km section from Hobup Junction to Moga near Namyi direction and the 12 km sections from Seo Cheongju to Ochang and Gyeonggi Gwangju IC to Jungbu 1 Tunnel in the direction of Hanam are congested.
National traffic volume is expected to be 4.05 million vehicles. The Expressway Corporation expects 390,000 vehicles to move from the metropolitan area to local areas and 410,000 vehicles from local areas to the metropolitan area.
For passenger cars departing from Seoul Tollgate at 5 p.m., the estimated travel times 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 expects congestion to be cleared around 7 to 8 p.m.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
