Gangneung to Seoul toll gate takes 4 hours 50 minutes; Yangyang to Namyangju 3 hours 50 minutes

Traffic congestion on an expressway. [Yonhap]
Traffic congestion on an expressway. [Yonhap]

Highways heading toward Seoul were clogged with returning holiday traffic Sunday, the final day of the three-day Hangul Day long weekend, though congestion remained less severe than during the recent chuseok holiday.

According to the Korea Expressway Corporation, estimated travel times to the Seoul toll gate from major cities as of 4 p.m. were: five hours from Busan, four hours and 40 minutes from Ulsan, four hours and 20 minutes from Mokpo, four hours and 10 minutes from Gwangju, four hours from Daegu, and two hours and 30 minutes from Daejeon.

In the outbound direction, travel times from Seoul to each city were estimated at four hours and 40 minutes to Busan, four hours and 20 minutes to Ulsan, three hours and 40 minutes to Mokpo, three hours and 40 minutes to Daegu, three hours and 20 minutes to Gwangju, and one hour and 40 minutes to Daejeon.

Compared with 9 a.m., Seoul-bound travel times had increased by only about 10 minutes per city.

The Korea Expressway Corporation had earlier forecast that congestion would peak around 4 p.m., but estimated travel times did not rise sharply.

On the first day of the holiday, Friday, the Seoul-to-Busan trip was estimated at seven hours and 40 minutes in the morning. As of 4 p.m. Sunday, however, the East Coast corridor was experiencing severe congestion as vehicles streamed toward Seoul.

As of 4 p.m., the trip from Gangneung to the Seoul toll gate was taking four hours and 50 minutes — more than two hours longer than the roughly two hours and 40 minutes needed in the opposite direction.

Travel time from Yangyang to Namyangju had also stretched to three hours and 50 minutes, while the reverse trip from Namyangju to Yangyang was estimated at about one hour and 50 minutes.

Major congested stretches on Seoul-bound routes included a 14-kilometer backup between Oksan and the Cheongju rest stop on the Gyeongbu Expressway, a 15-kilometer jam from near Seorak to near Hwado on the Seoul-Yangyang Expressway, and an 18-kilometer slowdown between Dangjin and the Poseung junction on the West Coast Expressway.

The corporation projected that about 4.81 million vehicles would travel nationwide Sunday, with an estimated 360,000 moving from the Greater Seoul area to regional cities and 480,000 heading in the opposite direction.

Traffic toward regional destinations was largely moving smoothly, but Seoul-bound congestion was expected to persist at a moderate level through the late afternoon.

As large numbers of vehicles returned to the capital, major roads within Seoul also began to back up in the afternoon. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government's traffic information system, the northbound lanes of Gangbyeon Expressway were congested from the north end of Hangang Bridge through the northern approaches of Wonhyo, Mapo, Seogang, Yanghwa and Seongsan bridges.

Southbound lanes were also moving slowly near Gayang Bridge and between Wonhyo and Hangang bridges. On Olympic Expressway, northbound traffic was backed up from the south end of Yeongdong Bridge through the southern approaches of Seongsu, Dongho and Hannam bridges. Southbound traffic was relatively clear.


yckim6452@heraldcorp.com