Traffic Jam on the Last Day of the Holiday Return Trip... When Will It Clear Up?

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] On the last day of the Lunar New Year holiday, the 24th, highway congestion is intensifying due to vehicles heading home. Korea Expressway Corporation expects the congestion to ease only after 10 PM on this day.

According to Korea Expressway Corporation, as of 1 PM, the estimated travel times from major cities nationwide to the Seoul Tollgate are: Busan 5 hours 30 minutes, Ulsan 5 hours 10 minutes, Daegu 4 hours 30 minutes, Gwangju 4 hours 30 minutes, Gangneung 2 hours 50 minutes, and Daejeon 2 hours 40 minutes.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Conversely, the travel times from the Seoul Tollgate to each city are: Busan 4 hours 30 minutes, Ulsan 4 hours 10 minutes, Daegu 3 hours 30 minutes, Gwangju 3 hours 20 minutes, Gangneung 2 hours 40 minutes, and Daejeon 1 hour 30 minutes.

Due to vehicles heading home at the final stage of the holiday, congestion is occurring on highways across the country.

As of 12:30 PM, on the Seoul-bound lanes of the Gyeongbu Expressway, slow traffic is observed in the following sections: around Yangjae to Banpo for 5 km, near Anseong Junction for 3 km, from Cheongju to Oksan Junction for 11 km, from Sintanjin Rest Area to Jukam Rest Area for 8 km, and near Yeongdong Tunnel 1 for 3 km.

On the Busan-bound lanes of the Gyeongbu Expressway, congestion is occurring in the sections from Hannam to Yangjae for 6 km and from Oksan Rest Area to near Oksan for 2 km.

On the Seoul-bound lanes of the Seohaean Expressway, vehicles are unable to maintain speed in the sections from Dangjin to Seohae Bridge for 10 km and near Hongseong for 1 km.

On the Hanam-bound lanes of the Jungbu Expressway, traffic is backed up in the sections from Iljuk to near Iljuk for 3 km, near Jincheon Tunnel to near Jincheon for 4 km, and from Nami Junction to near Seo Cheongju for 8 km.

On the Incheon-bound lanes of the Yeongdong Expressway, vehicles are moving slowly in the sections from Jinbu 3 Tunnel to Jinbu 1 Tunnel for 3 km, near Bongpyeong Tunnel to Dunnae Tunnel for 6 km, Yangji to near Yangji Tunnel for 2 km, and from Dundae Junction to near Banwol Tunnel for 3 km.

On the Ilsan-bound lanes of the Capital Region 1st Circular Expressway, congestion is occurring from near Gimpo to Jayuro for 2 km.

On this day, traffic heading toward the hometowns is relatively smooth, but congestion on the return routes is expected to be worst between 3 and 4 PM and to ease between 10 and 11 PM.