On the morning of the first day of the Chuseok holiday, the 14th, traffic congestion is beginning on the highways as vehicles head home.
On the afternoon of the 13th, one day before the Chuseok holiday, the Gyeongbu Expressway near Singal IC in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, viewed from a police helicopter, is congested with vehicles returning home. [Image source=Yonhap News]
According to Korea Expressway Corporation (hereafter referred to as the Corporation), as of 9 a.m. that day, the estimated travel times by passenger car from Seoul Tollgate to major cities nationwide are 7 hours 10 minutes to Busan, 6 hours 40 minutes to Ulsan, 6 hours 20 minutes to Mokpo, 6 hours 10 minutes to Daegu, 5 hours 50 minutes to Gwangju, 4 hours 10 minutes to Gangneung, and 3 hours 40 minutes to Daejeon.
Conversely, the estimated travel times from each city to Seoul are 5 hours from Busan, 4 hours 30 minutes from Ulsan, 3 hours 40 minutes from Mokpo, 4 hours from Daegu, 3 hours 20 minutes from Gwangju, 2 hours 40 minutes from Gangneung, and 1 hour 30 minutes from Daejeon. The Corporation stated, “The homebound direction is congested, but the return direction is smoother than a typical Saturday.”
On the Gyeongbu Expressway heading toward Busan, congestion is occurring in sections such as Dongtan Junction to Anseong (21 km), Cheonan to near Cheonan Service Area (17 km), and near Oksan Service Area to Cheongju Junction (15 km). On the Seohaean Expressway heading toward Mokpo, vehicle movement is delayed in sections including Seopyeongtaek to near Dangjin (22.5 km), Paltan Junction to near Balan (10 km), and Seopyeongtaek Junction to Seopyeongtaek (6 km).
On the Jungbu Expressway heading toward Namyi, vehicles are moving slowly in sections such as Majang Junction to near Namicheon IC (12 km), Jincheon to near Jincheon Tunnel (8 km), and near Jungbu 3 Tunnel to Gyeonggi Gwangju Junction (5 km). On the Yeongdong Expressway heading toward Gangneung, congestion is occurring in sections including near Singal Junction to Yongin (7 km), near Icheon to Yeoju Junction (6 km), and Yongin to near Yangji Tunnel (5.9 km).
On the Seoul-Yangyang Expressway heading toward Yangyang, vehicles are repeatedly stopping and going in the 19 km section near Gangil to Seojong, and on the Jungbu Naeryuk Expressway heading toward Changwon, in the 10 km section near Yeoju Junction to Gamgok.
The Corporation expects 420,000 vehicles to move from the metropolitan area to local regions and 430,000 vehicles from local regions to the metropolitan area on this day. The homebound direction’s traffic congestion was most severe between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. and is expected to ease around 8 to 9 p.m.
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