'Groundbreaking Ceremony for Dongbu Ganseon Underground Project'
Dispersal of Over 70,000 Vehicles Daily, Reduced Travel Time
Completion in 2029... 4-Lane Deep Tunnel
The 'Dongbu Expressway Underground Road,' announced during the first term of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon in 2009, is breaking ground. Once the underground construction is completed, the travel time between Wolgye IC and Daechi IC is expected to drastically decrease from the current 50 minutes to around 10 minutes. The completion is scheduled for 2029.
On the 2nd, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the 'Dongbu Expressway Underground Road' at the Seoul Civil Defense Education Center, attended by Mayor Oh, related National Assembly members Ahn Gyu-baek and Seo Young-kyo, and City Council Chairperson Choi Ho-jung.
Heavy rain centered in the central region on the 30th has caused the water level of the Jungnangcheon Stream in Seoul to rise, resulting in a complete traffic shutdown on the Dongbu Expressway. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@
The Dongbu Expressway has been in operation since 1991 and is used by about 150,000 vehicles daily, establishing itself as a major transportation axis in eastern Seoul. However, due to continuous traffic increases, chronic congestion has occurred, and road flooding caused by concentrated summer heavy rains has been repeated annually, making underground construction urgent.
The 12.5 km section from Wollunggyo to Daechi Woosung Apartments, which is now breaking ground, is a deep tunnel project constructing a four-lane underground road exclusively for small vehicles passing under the Jungnangcheon Stream and the Han River. It will allow entry and exit via the existing Dongbu Expressway 'Wollung Interchange (IC)' and 'Gunja Interchange (IC),' and additionally, new interchanges will be established at ▲Samsung IC ▲Cheongdam IC ▲Daechi IC, enabling access from Yeongdong-daero and Dosan-daero as well.
Seoul City signed an implementation agreement with the project operator, Dong Seoul Underground Road Co., Ltd., in March last year and approved the implementation plan in May this year. In particular, the underground road is designed as a disaster prevention grade 1 facility prioritizing safety, applying all the latest guidelines and standards, including flood prevention criteria to prevent underground space flooding. Even during floods of the Jungnangcheon Stream, water inflow is completely blocked, allowing safe use 365 days a year without traffic restrictions during sudden heavy rains.
Seoul City expects that once the 'Dongbu Expressway Underground Road' project is completed, the surface traffic volume on the Dongbu Expressway will decrease from 155,100 vehicles per day to 87,517 vehicles, a reduction of up to about 43%. In this case, the travel time from Wolgye IC to Daechi IC will be significantly reduced from the current 50 minutes to around 10 minutes.
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