A road construction project aimed at easing chronic traffic congestion in northern Incheon has cleared a preliminary feasibility review, paving the way for the project to move forward.
The Incheon city government announced Wednesday that the Bongno-Gyeongmyeongno congested-road construction project passed the Ministry of Economy and Finance's preliminary feasibility review on Tuesday, securing 97.7 billion won ($64 million) in state funding.
The project calls for building a new 2.9-kilometer road connecting Hyosung-dong in Gyeyang-gu with Gongchon-dong in Seo-gu.
The four-lane road will include a 0.1-kilometer bridge and a 1.5-kilometer tunnel, with total project costs estimated at 209.8 billion won.
The corridor has long been identified as a "missing link" — a gap created by the absence of a direct connection between Bongno and Gyeongmyeongno that has disrupted traffic flow in the area.
Once the road opens, it is expected to integrate with surrounding transport infrastructure — including the Geomdan-Gyeongmyeongno road project and the Hyosung urban development zone access road — significantly improving the road network across northern Incheon.
The new road is particularly expected to help distribute traffic generated by newly developed areas with a combined population of about 280,000, including the Geomdan new town, Hyosung district, Gyeyang and the Bupyeong Daejang district.
The project is also expected to help establish a more systematic north-south arterial road network stretching from Geomdan through Gyeyang, Bupyeong, Incheon City Hall and on to Songdo.
Traffic conditions are projected to improve markedly. Congestion on Seogotno and Gyeyang-daero — two currently overburdened corridors — is expected to ease. The city forecasts travel times from Incheon City Hall to key areas in Geomdan will drop by about 13 minutes, and from Geomdan district office to Bupyeong Station by about eight minutes.
"Passing this preliminary feasibility review is an important turning point for improving the traffic environment in the northern district and achieving balanced development between established neighborhoods and new towns," Incheon Mayor Park Chan-dae said. "We will strengthen cooperation with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and other relevant agencies to swiftly advance the follow-up administrative procedures."
gilbert@heraldcorp.com
