Seoul→Busan 4 hours 30 minutes
Seoul→Ulsan 4 hours 10 minutes
Seoul→Gwangju 3 hours 30 minutes
Seoul→Daegu 3 hours 30 minutes
Return trip direction congestion clears 8 PM~9 PM
Homebound direction congestion clears 6 PM~7 PM
On the afternoon of the first day of the Chuseok holiday, the southbound lane of the Gyeongbu Expressway at Jamwon IC in Seocho-gu, Seoul, is crowded with vehicles heading home. [Photo by Yonhap News]
On the afternoon of the first day of the Chuseok holiday, the 14th, most of the highway congestion caused by people returning to their hometowns was cleared.
The Korea Expressway Corporation announced that as of 6 p.m. that day, the estimated travel times by passenger car from Seoul Tollgate to major cities nationwide were 4 hours 30 minutes to Busan, 4 hours 10 minutes to Ulsan, 3 hours 40 minutes to Mokpo, 3 hours 30 minutes to Daegu, 3 hours 30 minutes to Gwangju, 2 hours 50 minutes to Gangneung, and 1 hour 40 minutes to Daejeon.
The travel times from each city to Seoul were 4 hours 30 minutes from Busan, 4 hours 10 minutes from Ulsan, 3 hours 50 minutes from Mokpo, 3 hours 30 minutes from Daegu, 3 hours 20 minutes from Gwangju, 2 hours 40 minutes from Gangneung, and 1 hour 30 minutes from Daejeon.
As of 12 p.m. that day, the estimated travel times from Seoul to each city were 6 hours 40 minutes to Busan, 6 hours 10 minutes to Ulsan, 5 hours 20 minutes to Mokpo, 5 hours 40 minutes to Daegu, 5 hours 10 minutes to Gwangju, 3 hours 50 minutes to Gangneung, and 3 hours 10 minutes to Daejeon.
The estimated travel times from each city to Seoul were 4 hours 40 minutes from Busan, 4 hours 10 minutes from Ulsan, 3 hours 40 minutes from Mokpo, 3 hours 40 minutes from Daegu, 3 hours 30 minutes from Gwangju, 2 hours 40 minutes from Gangneung, and 1 hour 50 minutes from Daejeon.
Meanwhile, on the Gyeongbu Expressway heading toward Busan, congestion occurred in sections including Hannam to Seocho (4 km), near Oksan Junction to Oksan (12 km), near Cheongju Junction to Jukam (8 km), and near Daejeon to Biryong Junction (5 km).
On the Seohaean Expressway heading toward Mokpo, vehicle congestion continued in sections including near Seopyeongtaek to Seohae Bridge (8 km), near Dongseocheon Junction to near Gunsan (8 km), and Donggunsan to near Donggunsan (3 km).
On the Jungbu Expressway heading toward Namyi, vehicles were moving slowly in sections including Hobeop Junction to Moga (4 km) and near Jincheon to near Jincheon Tunnel (6 km).
Also, on the Jungbu Naeryuk Line heading toward Changwon, vehicles were repeatedly stopping and going in sections including Yeoju Junction to near Gamgok (10 km), near Mungyeong Saejae to near Jinnam Tunnel (7 km), and near Nakdong Junction to Sangju Tunnel (8 km).
The expected nationwide traffic volume for the day was 5.34 million vehicles, with 420,000 vehicles moving from the metropolitan area to local areas and 430,000 vehicles moving from local areas to the metropolitan area.
The Expressway Corporation anticipated that congestion in the direction of returning home would clear around 8 to 9 p.m., and congestion in the direction of returning to the city would clear around 6 to 7 p.m.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
