Gangwon Province announced Friday that construction has begun this month on the second Gyeongchun National Highway linking Namyangju and Chuncheon, with completion targeted for 2032.
Gangwon Province and the Wonju Regional Land Management Office held a ground-breaking briefing Friday in the Anbo-ri area of Seo-myeon, Chuncheon, attended by about 30 people, including local residents, Gangwon Province Governor Woo Sang-ho, Wonju Regional Land Management Office Director Lee Dong-min, Chuncheon Mayor Yuk Dong-han, and Assembly members Heo Young and Han Ki-ho.
The event informed local residents of the project's formal launch and shared updates on construction progress and plans to expand the road network by connecting the new highway with existing national and local roads.
The second Gyeongchun National Highway will be a new four-lane road stretching 33.6 kilometers from Geumnam-ri in Hwado-eup, Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, to Dangnim-ri in Seo-myeon, Chuncheon.
The project was designated in 2019 as exempt from a preliminary feasibility study under the national balanced development initiative. It carries a total budget of 1.94 trillion won ($1.41 billion) and aims to open in 2032.
The full route is divided into five construction sections, with work on all of them beginning Sept. 1. The Seoul Regional Land Management Office is handling sections one and two, covering 15.8 kilometers, while the Wonju Regional Land Management Office is responsible for sections three through five, covering 17.8 kilometers. The project calls for 25 tunnels, 41 bridges and seven intersections.
Once open, the highway is expected to cut travel time between Namyangju and Chuncheon from 54 minutes to 25 minutes — a reduction of about 29 minutes.
The road is also expected to ease chronic congestion on existing National Highway 46, lower logistics costs, and improve access from the greater Seoul area to Gangwon Province, boosting tourism and industrial activity in Chuncheon and the broader northern Gangwon region.
To spread the benefits of the new highway across northern Gangwon Province, the provincial government is also pursuing an expanded road network linking existing national and local roads to the new route.
A separate project to build a bypass along National Highway 5 between Seo-myeon and Sinbuk — stretching 10.5 kilometers at a cost of 365.1 billion won — has been included in the sixth national highway construction plan to divert traffic expected to concentrate around Anbo-ri toward Yongsan-ri after the second Gyeongchun highway opens.
A separate project to widen a 3.1-kilometer stretch of Local Highway 70 between Geumsan and Sinmae in Seo-myeon to four lanes — at a cost of 36.6 billion won — has been included in the sixth national highway construction plan as a candidate project exempt from preliminary feasibility review for projects under 50 billion won, with results pending.
"The second Gyeongchun National Highway is a core transport link connecting the greater Seoul area with Gangwon Province and will create a new axis of development for Chuncheon and the northern Gangwon region," Governor Woo said. "After seven years of waiting, construction has finally begun in earnest, and we will actively cooperate on securing the budget and supporting administrative procedures to ensure the road opens on schedule in 2032."
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