Incheon City Launches Urban Regeneration Around Gyeongin Expressway... 'Seoknam Turtle Base' Design Competition Next Month

Incheon Seo-gu Seoknam Station area, a city regeneration New Deal project site [Photo by Incheon City]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Incheon City is set to fully launch the urban regeneration New Deal project "The Path of People Returning After 50 Years" around the old Gyeongin Expressway (currently Incheon-daero).

The city announced on the 25th that it has signed a tripartite agreement with Seo-gu, Incheon, and the Incheon Headquarters of Korea Land and Housing Corporation to successfully promote the Seoknam Turtle Base and Eoullim Center, which serve as the catalyst for this project.

According to the agreement, the three organizations agreed to strengthen the public role and support for the project aimed at restoring the economic, social, and cultural vitality of the area that had been cut off and marginalized by the Gyeongin Expressway, thereby expanding the foundation for the city's autonomous growth.

The Seoknam Turtle Base is a youth startup incubation facility with three underground floors and nine above-ground floors (1,200㎡), consisting of a startup incubation center, startup support housing (60 units), and a public parking lot (100 spaces).

Additionally, the Seoknam Eoullim Center is a complex cultural facility with two underground floors and seven above-ground floors (1,000㎡), housing a cultural center, Happy Housing (109 units), and a public parking lot (76 spaces).

Following a design competition around next month, basic and detailed designs will commence in July. Construction is scheduled to start in June next year and be completed by June 2023.

The "The Path of People Returning After 50 Years" project, carried out on a 213,000㎡ site around Seoknam Station in Seo-gu, Incheon, was selected as a Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport-led central city-type urban regeneration New Deal project in 2018.

The city expects that although the Seoknam-dong area suffered from urban disconnection for over 50 years after the opening of the Gyeongin Expressway, this project will transform it into a communication hub connecting people and places.

Meanwhile, Incheon City recently finalized detailed plans for converting the 10.45km section from the old Gyeongin Expressway Incheon starting point to Seo-Incheon IC into a general road.

The city plans to leave only living-type roads and Super Bus Rapid Transit (S-BRT) lanes on both sides of this road section, while expanding parks and green spaces in the central median area that was previously used as a road divider.

The S-BRT is a future transportation system known as the "subway on the ground," as it operates on dedicated lanes and priority signal systems, allowing it to run through intersections without stopping.

Furthermore, an underground four-lane road construction project is underway for the 6.75km section from Dohwa IC to Seo-Incheon IC.

The total project cost for Incheon-daero, including the S-BRT road construction and underground road project, amounts to 856 billion KRW. The city applied to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport last November to include the 6.75km Dohwa to Seo-Incheon section in the congestion road improvement plan, and if accepted, will receive 50% support for the 756 billion KRW urban expressway project cost.

The city has set a completion target of 2023 for the 3.7km section from the Incheon starting point to Dohwa IC, and 2026 for the 6.75km section from Dohwa IC to Seo-Incheon IC.

The section from the Gyeongin Expressway Incheon starting point to Seo-Incheon IC was converted to a general road in December 2017 following Incheon City's proposal, and its management authority was transferred from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to Incheon City.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.