Daily expressway traffic in the Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province region is expected to rise this Chuseok holiday compared with last year. [Herald DB]
Daily expressway traffic in the Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province region is expected to rise this Chuseok holiday compared with last year. [Herald DB]

Daily expressway traffic in the Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province region is forecast to rise during this year's Chuseok holiday compared with last year.

According to the Korea Expressway Corporation's Daegu-North Gyeongsang branch, an average of 611,000 vehicles per day are expected to use regional expressways during the Chuseok holiday period running from Wednesday through Sunday — a 7.5 percent increase from the same period last year.

Traffic is expected to peak on Friday, Chuseok Day itself, when homebound travelers and cemetery visitors are forecast to push volume up 12.7 percent year-on-year to 772,000 vehicles.

Daily traffic on the remaining holiday days is projected at 642,000 vehicles on Thursday, 589,000 on Wednesday, 566,000 on Saturday and 485,000 on Sunday, the final day of the holiday.

To keep traffic moving smoothly, the Korea Expressway Corporation's Daegu-North Gyeongsang branch plans to operate shoulder lanes and temporary lanes on major congestion-prone stretches, and will provide real-time traffic conditions and detour information through variable message signs.

Emergency response teams will also be deployed to address potholes and road debris to ensure safe driving conditions.

"All vehicles using expressways from midnight Thursday through midnight Sunday will be exempt from tolls," a Korea Expressway Corporation Daegu-North Gyeongsang branch official said. "We ask drivers to stay relaxed and drive safely."


yeop@heraldcorp.com