Gangdong-gu Mayor Lee Jeong-hoon Visits Cheonho Underpass Flattening Construction Site

Visit Scheduled for the Afternoon of the 24th During Expected Traffic Congestion at Rush Hour, Seeking Alternatives to Minimize Resident Inconvenience... Cheonho Underpass Flattening Expected to Resolve Local Business Disruption and Improve Public Transportation Convenience

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Lee Jung-hoon, Mayor of Gangdong-gu, visited and inspected the construction site for the flattening of Cheonho Underpass and the installation of the central bus-only lane at 5 p.m. on the 24th.

This inspection was conducted to coincide with the expected peak traffic congestion during the evening rush hour. The purpose was to directly observe the traffic congestion and inconvenience to residents caused by the full closure of Cheonho Underpass and to find practical measures to minimize these issues.

Cheonho Underpass was installed in 1997 to alleviate traffic congestion, but over time and with changes in the surrounding environment, it has failed to function properly and has been identified as a major cause of traffic jams. In this section, which occupies 2 of the 5 one-way lanes, the central bus-only lane is interrupted, causing about 20 bus routes from Seoul and Gyeonggi to be concentrated into 3 lanes, and vehicles entering and exiting nearby department stores, large marts, and underground public parking lots frequently intertwine, creating bottlenecks.

Due to the underpass, there was no crosswalk directly connecting Cheonho-dong Rodeo Street and Seongnae-dong Food Alley, which was pointed out as a cause of commercial district stagnation.

Accordingly, since 2014, Gangdong-gu has requested Seoul City to review the flattening of Cheonho Underpass as one of the connection plans between Cheonho-dong and Seongnae-dong. The city held two resident briefings in January 2017 and February 2018 for local residents, city and district council members, and related parties, and after detailed design, the construction was commissioned in December 2018.

However, due to the review of underground space utilization of Cheonho Underpass, establishment of phased traffic management plans during construction, and the COVID-19 situation, the construction began in April 2020 under the supervision of Seoul City’s Urban Infrastructure Headquarters.

The construction involves filling in Cheonho Underpass to create a surface road and connecting the 1.2 km section from the southern end of Cheonho Bridge to Gangdong Station, which is a non-connected section of the Cheonho-daero central bus-only lane (BRT).

The district announced that once Cheonho Underpass is flattened and crosswalks are installed, the previously disconnected commercial areas of Cheonho-dong and Seongnae-dong, including Cheonho-dong Rodeo Street, Hyundai Department Store, E-Mart, Lotte Cinema, and Seongnae-dong Jjukkumi Alley, will be connected, revitalizing the old downtown area.

Additionally, the number of lanes will expand from 9 to 10, and central bus stops will be installed in each direction, greatly improving convenience for public transportation users. It is expected that 9 bus routes heading downtown along Cheonho-daero will benefit from this.

Lee Jung-hoon, Mayor of Gangdong-gu, said, “I deeply regret the inconvenience caused to residents due to the flattening construction of Cheonho Underpass. Currently, the underpass is fully closed, but when it switches to partial closure on June 25, traffic congestion is expected to ease somewhat.”

He added, “When the flattening of Cheonho Underpass and installation of the central bus-only lane (BRT) are completed by the end of August, the local traffic flow will improve significantly, and the convenience of public transportation will increase. The connection of the commercial areas of Cheonho-dong and Seongnae-dong, leading to the revitalization of the local economy, is the most important achievement. I ask residents to be a little more patient and cooperative for the establishment of transportation infrastructure and regional economic revitalization suitable for Gangdong-gu, which is transforming into a city of 550,000 people.”

The district is making efforts to reduce traffic congestion caused by the closure of Cheonho Underpass by installing banners, signboards, and construction information signs around Cheonho Intersection and nearby key points, and actively guiding detour routes by region such as Guri and Hanam.

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