Seoul~Munsan Expressway to Open on the 7th

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Seoul-Munsan Private Investment Expressway, a key route in the northern metropolitan area, will open at midnight on the 7th.

GS Engineering & Construction (GS E&C) announced on the 6th that it held an opening ceremony for the Seoul-Munsan Private Investment Expressway at the Goyang Sales Office in Seongsa-dong, Deogyang-gu, Goyang City, hosted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. At the event, it was officially confirmed that the Seoul-Munsan Expressway would open at midnight on the 7th. About 100 people attended the event, including Son Myeong-su, 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, local assembly members from Goyang City, Lee Yong-cheol, 2nd Deputy Governor of Gyeonggi Province, Son Tae-rak, President of Seoul-Munsan Expressway, and Heo Yun-hong, Head of GS E&C’s New Business Division.

The Seoul-Munsan Expressway is a 35.2 km long, 2 to 6 lanes dual carriageway connecting Gangmae-dong, Deogyang-gu, Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province, to Naepori, Munsan-eup, Paju City. Construction began in November 2015, and after an investment of approximately 2.119 trillion KRW, it is opening after five years.

The Seoul-Munsan Expressway was developed as a private investment project, with the government supporting some costs such as land compensation, and the remainder borne by the private sector. Seoul-Munsan Expressway is the project operator, with GS E&C participating as the lead contractor. Upon completion, all facilities will be donated to the state, and the operating rights will be granted for 30 years.

GS E&C actively applied smart construction technologies to the Seoul-Munsan Expressway project, including 3D design techniques using laser scanning and drone photography, Building Information Modeling (BIM), and real-time location tracking systems.

With the completion of the Seoul-Munsan Expressway, GS E&C’s private road projects are expected to gain further momentum. Previously, GS E&C served as the lead contractor for the northern section of the Metropolitan Area 1st Ring Road (Ilsan to Toegyewon) and the Cheonan-Nonsan Expressway, and participated in numerous private projects including the 2nd Yeongdong Expressway, Seoul Gangnam Circular Expressway, and Western Arterial Underground Road.

Heo Yun-hong, Head of GS E&C’s New Business Division, stated, "Based on GS E&C’s extensive experience in private investment projects, we successfully completed and opened the Seoul-Munsan Expressway without any extension of the construction period. We will actively participate in various private projects in the future and contribute to domestic and international infrastructure construction."

Meanwhile, once the Seoul-Munsan Expressway opens, traffic flow on the heavily congested Jayuro and Tongillo roads is expected to improve significantly, and accessibility from the northwest Gyeonggi region to Seoul and southern Gyeonggi areas will be greatly enhanced.

For Tongillo (Wollong to Gupabal), a reduction of about 8,000 vehicles per day is expected, and for Jayuro (Jangwol to Gimpo Bridge), about 27,000 vehicles per day. Travel time is predicted to be about 40 minutes faster (8 km shorter) compared to Tongillo, and about 10 minutes faster (10 km shorter) compared to Jayuro.

In particular, residents of the 2nd phase new town, Paju Unjeong New Town, and the Goyang Changneung District, designated as a 3rd phase new town in March, will be able to use the metropolitan expressway network more conveniently. Additionally, as a radial route connecting the Metropolitan Area 1st and 2nd Ring Roads, it is expected to improve the overall efficiency of the metropolitan road network.

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