‘Baegun Square Demolition’... Monitoring Results Show Significant Decrease in Traffic Volume

Daily Traffic Volume Decreased by 48.33% from Approximately 150,000 to 77,000 Vehicles

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] The Gwangju Metropolitan City Urban Railway Construction Headquarters announced on the 11th that a traffic survey conducted around Baegun Square from the 4th to the 5th, when the demolition of Baegun Overpass began, showed that the daily traffic volume before the construction was 150,163 vehicles, but after the construction started, it decreased to 77,592 vehicles, a 48.33% reduction in daily traffic volume.

During the morning rush hour, the hourly traffic volume decreased by 41.22%, from 9,431 vehicles before construction to 5,544 vehicles after construction, and the evening rush hour traffic volume also decreased by 43.71%, from 9,056 vehicles to 5,113 vehicles.

The time taken to pass through intersections around Baegun Square increased by about 15 seconds, from 158.1 seconds per vehicle before construction to 173.8 seconds after construction.

Based on the monitoring results, Gwangju City plans to minimize traffic congestion by securing an additional lane towards Nam-gu Office at Juwol Intersection, while lanes have already been opened from Nam-gu Office to Nam Gwangju direction, from Nam Gwangju to Baegun Square direction, and from Baegun Square towards Donga Hospital.

The city is also maintaining traffic signs on five major routes leading into Baegun Square so that citizens can recognize the overpass demolition work in advance and take detours, and is working to alleviate traffic inconvenience by additionally installing road guidance lines and traffic lights.

Furthermore, one intersection within the Baegun Overpass intersection has been designated as no left turn, while left turns are permitted at five locations around Baegun Square, with changes made to the surrounding signal system accordingly.

In addition, real-time traffic information is being provided to vehicles passing through Baegun Square, and navigation companies, mobile carriers, and portal sites have been requested to update their programs to guide detour routes during route searches.

Even during the demolition work, traffic conditions around Baegun Square will be continuously monitored and the results reflected in traffic planning. Through consultation with traffic experts and coordination with the National Police Agency, the city plans to minimize lane occupancy in the construction area by adjusting signal cycles around Baegun Square and implementing phased traffic management plans including day and night concurrent construction.

Gwangju City plans to complete the demolition of the Baegun Overpass structure by November and to construct Urban Railway Line 2 and an underground road by 2023 after the overpass demolition is finished.

An Juhyun, head of the Urban Railway Construction Headquarters Construction Department, said, “During the Baegun Overpass demolition period, we ask that drivers detour around roads near Baegun Square as much as possible, and we will strive to minimize traffic inconvenience through safety management around the construction site and concurrent day and night construction.”

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