Korea Expressway Corporation says congestion to peak between 4 and 5 p.m.

Vehicles travel along the northbound (left) and southbound lanes of the Gyeongbu Expressway near Jamwon IC in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on Saturday. [Yonhap]
Vehicles travel along the northbound (left) and southbound lanes of the Gyeongbu Expressway near Jamwon IC in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on Saturday. [Yonhap]

Traffic congestion is building on highways across the country Sunday morning as travelers head back to Seoul on the final day of the Chuseok holiday.

According to the Korea Expressway Corporation, as of 9 a.m. Sunday, estimated travel times from major cities to the Seoul tollgate were: 5 hours from Busan, 4 hours and 40 minutes from Ulsan, 4 hours and 10 minutes from Mokpo, 4 hours from Daegu, 3 hours and 40 minutes from Gwangju, 2 hours and 50 minutes from Gangneung, and 1 hour and 50 minutes from Daejeon.

With vehicles flooding back toward the capital, return traffic has been moving sluggishly since early morning.

On the Jungbu Naeryuk Expressway toward Yangpyeong, traffic is crawling along a 2-kilometer stretch near the Chungju junction and a 1-kilometer section near the Yeoju junction.

Starting around 10 a.m., congestion is also expected on the Gyeongbu Expressway between Nam-Cheongju and Oksan and between Suwon Singal and Singal, as well as on the West Coast Expressway between Dangjin and Poseung junction toward Seoul.

The Korea Expressway Corporation forecast that return congestion, which began in the morning, will peak between 4 and 5 p.m. and ease by 10 to 11 p.m.

Total nationwide traffic volume is expected to reach 5.24 million vehicles Sunday. The corporation projected that 370,000 vehicles will travel from the greater Seoul area to regional cities, while 490,000 will head in the opposite direction.

Outbound holiday traffic has largely cleared.

Travel times from Seoul to major cities stood at 4 hours and 30 minutes to Busan, 4 hours and 10 minutes to Ulsan, 4 hours to Daegu, 3 hours and 40 minutes to Mokpo, 3 hours and 20 minutes to Gwangju, 2 hours and 40 minutes to Gangneung, and 1 hour and 30 minutes to Daejeon.

Unlike the highways, major roads within Seoul are flowing smoothly.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government's traffic information system, no congestion has been reported on major east-west arteries including the Olympic Expressway, the Gangbyeon North Road and the Inner Circular Road, nor on the East and West Cross-City Expressways or the Gangnam Circular Road.


hss@heraldcorp.com