Cities join forces on national highway linking the two

Ulsan city limits–Gyeongju Oidong road expansion sought

Nongso–Oidong highway targeted for 2028 completion

Kim Jong-hwa, director of Ulsan's construction and housing bureau, briefs reporters at the Ulsan City Hall press center Wednesday on a joint plan by Ulsan and Gyeongju to press the central government for national highway construction. [Ulsan city government]
Kim Jong-hwa, director of Ulsan's construction and housing bureau, briefs reporters at the Ulsan City Hall press center Wednesday on a joint plan by Ulsan and Gyeongju to press the central government for national highway construction. [Ulsan city government]

Ulsan and Gyeongju — partner cities under the "Haeoreum Alliance" — have drawn up a joint plan to press the central government to advance two national highway projects along Route 7 (Sannop-ro) that would bring the two cities closer together as a single living zone: the expansion of the existing road from the Ulsan city limits to Gyeongju's Oidong, and the construction of a new highway from Nongso to Oidong.

The joint initiative took shape after Gyeongju Mayor Ju Nak-young visited Ulsan Mayor Kim Sang-uk on Sept. 17 to propose the collaboration.

The stretch of national highway running from the Ulsan city limits — near Jungsandong in Buk-gu — to Gyeongju's Oidong sits at the confluence of three major industrial freight corridors: Sannop-ro, Iye-ro and Auto Valley-ro. The junction has long suffered from chronic traffic congestion.

Ulsan plans to invest 43 billion won ($31.7 million) to widen a 2.6-kilometer section connecting Jungsandong in Buk-gu to the Oidong intersection in Oidong-eup from four lanes to six. The section was selected last February as a candidate project under the sixth National Highway and Local Road Construction Plan (2026–2030), and the central government is currently reviewing its urgency and economic viability for inclusion in the national plan.

The National Highway and Local Road Construction Plan is a medium- to long-term blueprint that the minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport draws up every five years. It identifies national highways and nationally supported local roads across the country for new construction, widening or improvement, and sets annual targets and investment levels for each project.

Ulsan and Gyeongju plan to adopt a joint declaration calling for the projects' inclusion in the national plan and deliver it to the central government in the near future.

A map showing the locations of the Nongso–Oidong national highway, the Ulsan city limits (Jungsandong, Buk-gu)–Gyeongju Oidong national highway, and the Gyeongju city limits–Sindapgyo national highway, where Ulsan and Gyeongju are jointly working toward new construction and expansion. [Ulsan city government]
A map showing the locations of the Nongso–Oidong national highway, the Ulsan city limits (Jungsandong, Buk-gu)–Gyeongju Oidong national highway, and the Gyeongju city limits–Sindapgyo national highway, where Ulsan and Gyeongju are jointly working toward new construction and expansion. [Ulsan city government]

The Ulsan Nongso–Gyeongju Oidong national highway is planned as a bypass for Sannop-ro, the main industrial artery linking the two cities. At a total project cost of 203.8 billion won, it will connect Cheongokdong in Ulsan's Buk-gu with the Gueo intersection in Gyeongju's Oidong-eup over a 5.9-kilometer, four-lane route.

The section was included in the fourth National Highway and Local Road Construction Plan in 2017, and ground was broken in 2021 with a target completion date of 2028. Construction is now 50 percent complete — crews have finished excavating the Cheonma Tunnel and are building a bridge to grade-separate the Cheongok intersection.

Ulsan and Gyeongju plan to work with the central government and the National Assembly to secure annual funding in line with the project's investment schedule so that construction finishes on time.

"Once these roads are built, Ulsan and Gyeongju will become a single living zone that much sooner," Ulsan Mayor Kim Sang-uk said. "We will do everything we can to get the projects included in the sixth National Highway and Local Road Construction Plan and to secure the necessary funding."


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