Gwangju City Promotes Road Construction and Expansion Projects to Expand Arterial Road Network

Two New Projects 'Gwangju Hanam∼Jangseong Samgye Expressway' and 'Cheomdan 3 District Access Road' Launched

Full-Scale Improvement of Congested Roads from Sangmu District to Cheomdan Industrial Complex, Woljeon-dong to Mujin-ro, Yongdu to Damyang

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City will vigorously carry out various road construction and expansion projects this year to expand the arterial road network within the city.

According to Gwangju City on the 20th, the arterial road projects are promoted by classification into metropolitan roads, congested roads, industrial complex access roads, and research and development special zone support projects, depending on national funding sources.

The ongoing projects that the city is promoting this year total six: three congested road projects, two industrial complex access road projects, and one research and development special zone support project, with all necessary national funds secured.

Among these projects, one research and development special zone support project will be completed this year, and the remaining five projects will proceed with compensation and construction in earnest.

There are two new projects in total: one metropolitan road project and one industrial complex access road project.

At the end of last year, the metropolitan road project passed the preliminary feasibility study by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the industrial complex access road project passed the final feasibility evaluation, confirming them as new projects and securing about 100 billion KRW in national funds for project promotion.

As these arterial road network expansion projects gain momentum, it is expected that they will not only alleviate traffic inconvenience for commuting citizens but also have a significant impact on the local economy by reducing logistics costs.

First, the metropolitan road project, which receives 50% of the total project cost including compensation from national funds, will newly promote the ‘Gwangju Hanam~Jangseong Samgye Metropolitan Road’ project this year.

Gwangju City and Jeollanam-do will each start design work on their respective sections this year and proceed with route finalization.

The route will be partially adjusted and expanded from the existing two lanes to four lanes over 15.4 km, starting from Jangsu Intersection near Jin-gok, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, and Hanam Industrial Complex, passing through the Hwangryonggang section in Imgok-dong, to Sangmu Peace Park at Suyang Reservoir in Samgye-myeon, Jangseong-gun, Jeollanam-do.

The congested road improvement projects, which receive 50% of construction costs from national funds, will continuously promote four ongoing projects this year: ‘Sangmu District~Cheomdan Industrial Complex,’ ‘Woljeon-dong~Mujin-ro,’ ‘Northern Ring Road,’ and ‘Yongdu~Damyang.’

The ‘Sangmu District~Cheomdan Industrial Complex’ project will prioritize the section from Yudeok-dong Urban Railway Line 2 Vehicle Depot to Hanam-daero, where compensation is currently underway, and the Yeongsangang Bridge section, where cofferdam construction for bridge installation is in full swing.

When a new 4-6 lane road connecting the 4.98 km stretch between behind the Sangmu District City Hall and the Cheomdan Veterans Hospital is established, traffic volume on Bitgoeul-daero will be dispersed, easing traffic congestion during commuting hours. At the same time, a bicycle road will be newly constructed from the Cheomdan area to Sangmu District downtown, creating conditions for bicycle commuting.

The ‘Woljeon-dong~Mujin-ro’ project will see the start of underground road structure installation work in front of the airport station as railway-related consultations on the Dongsong Underpass near the airport have progressed.

In the future, when the 6.25 km section from Songjeong 2 Bridge in Woljeon-dong, Gwangsan-gu, passing the airport and Udaehoe Apartments to Sangmu Intersection in Usan-dong is newly constructed and expanded to four lanes, it will be possible to move to National Route 13 toward Naju without passing through the congested Gwangju Songjeong Station section and Seonun District section.

The ‘Northern Ring Road’ project plans to complete supplementary design for the 3.22 km section from Ilgok Intersection in Section 1, passing Hansae-bong, to Bitgoeul-daero in Yongdu-dong this year and start construction within the year.

The city has faced difficulties in project promotion due to opposition from environmental groups and some road construction complaints, but efforts are being made to promote the remaining Section 1 project by gathering public opinion through resident briefings and discussions at the City Citizens' Rights Committee.

The ‘Yongdu~Damyang’ project is expected to proceed smoothly with the remaining section expansion work as all necessary project funds for compensation and construction have been secured this year.

When the 3.1 km section from Yongdu Middle School, passing Jisan Elementary School, to Yongjeon Intersection is expanded to four lanes, a grid-type arterial road network will be formed centered on Yongdu Intersection along with Section 1 of the Northern Ring Road scheduled to start construction by the end of this year, alleviating traffic congestion in the Yangsan and Bonchon areas.

The industrial complex access road projects will continue with one new project and two ongoing projects.

The ongoing projects are being promoted in divided sections according to funding sources such as city funds and national funds over a 6.4 km section connecting Pyeong-dong 3rd Industrial Complex in Gwangsan-gu and Energy Valley Industrial Complex in Nam-gu. Design will be completed in the first half of this year, and construction will begin step-by-step from the second half.

The national fund section, a 2 km section from Yeongsangang Transverse Bridge to Seokjeong-dong in Nam-gu, will prioritize compensation and construction in the second half of this year, while the city-funded section, a 1 km section from Donggok Botanical Garden in Yugye-dong, Gwangsan-gu, to Yeongsangang, will be promoted flexibly in line with the progress of the national fund section construction.

The new project, ‘Cheomdan 3 District Access Road,’ passed the feasibility evaluation for new industrial complex access roads by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport at the end of last year, securing the entire project cost of 45.3 billion KRW from national funds. After consultation with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, design will begin in the second half of this year.

This project is the main access road construction project to enhance logistics competitiveness for the Cheomdan 3 District Research and Development Special Zone Industrial Complex, where the AI-centered industrial convergence cluster and the National Cardiovascular Center are located, directly connecting Cheomdan 3 District and Bitgoeul-daero by bridge.

The research and development special zone support project is one project, the ‘Gwangju R&D Special Zone Connection Road,’ which involves demolishing and reconstructing the existing old Yongdu Bridge in Yongdu-dong, Buk-gu. The bridge installation was completed in November last year and temporarily opened, and auxiliary construction will be completed this spring for final completion.

Park Nam-eon, Director of the Transportation and Construction Bureau of Gwangju City, said, “This year, the major arterial road network expansion projects within the city are expected to smoothly settle on the main track, accelerating project promotion,” adding, “We will promote road projects that satisfy citizens by alleviating traffic congestion and improving road driving conditions through major arterial road expansion projects, reducing stress and congestion costs caused by traffic jams.”

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