Incheon City Proposes Simultaneous Construction of Sections 1 and 2 of the Metropolitan Area 2nd Ring Road... Agrees to Citizen Petition

Location map of the Incheon~Ansan section of the Metropolitan Area 2nd Ring Expressway [Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Incheon City has requested the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to simultaneously begin construction on Sections 1 and 2 of the Metropolitan Area 2nd Ring Expressway, drawing attention to the outcome of this proposal.

Kim Gimu, Incheon City's Old Downtown Regeneration Coordinator, stated in response to an online citizen petition on the 10th, "We have requested the Ministry of Land to start construction on Sections 1 and 2 simultaneously and are currently in active discussions," adding, "We will do our best to ensure the simultaneous opening of the Metropolitan Area 2nd Ring Expressway by 2030."

The citizen petition demanding the 'simultaneous construction of Sections 1 and 2 of the Metropolitan Area 2nd Ring Expressway' garnered support from 3,583 people over a month, meeting Incheon City's response criteria.

Of the 260.8 km length of the Metropolitan Area 2nd Ring Expressway, Section 1 covers the 8.4 km stretch from Siwha to Namsongdo IC, and Section 2 covers the 11.4 km stretch from Namsongdo IC to Incheon South Port.

The Ministry of Land, the project executor, plans to begin construction on Section 1 in 2023 after this year's detailed design phase, but has yet to finalize the construction schedule for Section 2 due to environmental groups' demands to protect wetlands and residents' complaints about noise.

Coordinator Kim emphasized, "The Yeonsu District and resident groups in the project area have agreed on simultaneous construction," and added, "We will continue to communicate with local residents, environmental groups, and related organizations to minimize environmental impacts that may arise during the construction of Section 2."

Incheon City plans to establish environmental measures for Section 2 construction, including minimizing wetland damage and creating additional replacement wetlands.

Regarding concerns raised in the petition about increased safety and traffic congestion due to more freight vehicles using Namsongdo IC, the city explained, "We have proposed to the Ministry of Land a plan to use the underground road, Incheon New Port Road, as the main route during the design of Section 1."

The Ministry of Land plans to start the design of Section 1 in the first half of this year and complete it by the end of next year to urgently address traffic volume at Incheon New Port. It is reported that this plan will be reviewed during the ongoing design service procurement process.

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