Daegu City, Dalseo-gu 'Sanghwa-ro' Underground Tunnel ... Completion by the End of 2026

Daegu City Center's First Deep Tunnel Construction... 341.3 Billion KRW Invested
'Kolon Global Consortium' Selected as Final Detailed Design Contractor

Aerial view near Wolgok Intersection at the construction terminus.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Park Dong-wook] Daegu City announced on the 24th that it will install a four-lane underground tunnel on both sides of Sanghwa-ro in Dalseo-gu (a 4.1 km section from Yucheon Intersection to Wolgok Intersection), where frequent traffic congestion occurs.

Daegu City explained that the mobility, a key function of the 4th Ring Road, and the traffic accessibility for nearby residents in Daegok, Dowon, Yucheon-dong, and other areas will be improved. Sanghwa-ro experiences severe traffic congestion during commuting hours due to large-scale residential and industrial complexes such as Wolbae District, Daegok District, Technopolis, and Daegu National Industrial Complex.

The Sanghwa-ro grade separation project was included in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's '3rd Metropolitan Area Traffic Congestion Road Improvement Plan' in April 2016 and passed the preliminary feasibility study in May 2018. In July 2020, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance's total project cost review committee changed the original plan from an elevated road to an underground tunnel project, finalizing the plan.

Daegu City plans to invest 341.3 billion KRW in total, including 175.5 billion KRW in national funds and 163.8 billion KRW in city funds, aiming to open the tunnel by December 2026. Construction of the initial Fast Track section began in April, and the project will be fully promoted from the end of the year when the detailed design is completed.

Location map of the underground tunnel under Sanghwa-ro in Dalseo-gu (Yucheon Intersection to Wolgok Intersection, 4.1 km section).

In the project announcement last August, which was conducted through a design-build turnkey bidding method, the Kolon Global consortium and the Taeyoung Construction consortium participated in the bidding and competed over the basic design plan for four months. According to the recent bid opening results, the Kolon Global consortium (Kolon Global, Hwaseong, Seohan, Samjin C&C, Dasan Consultant, Yushin, Saman, Hando) was finally selected as the qualified detailed design contractor.

Sanghwa-ro is Daegu's first deep tunnel construction in the downtown area, and the project was implemented using a weighted criteria method with a higher technical weight (70% design, 30% price) rather than price. Deep depth refers to the limit depth that does not interfere with general land use due to the installation of underground facilities. In urban areas, going deeper than 40 meters underground generally exempts compensation obligations.

Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin said, "Once the project is completed, it is expected to resolve the severe traffic congestion in the southwestern part of Daegu, including Sanghwa-ro, and dramatically improve the traffic flow of the 4th Ring Road. Since it will also reduce logistics costs for surrounding industrial complexes and have a significant economic revitalization effect, we will push forward quickly and do our best to ensure the tunnel opens without delay in 2026."

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