Commuting Time Reduced from 30 to 10 Minutes... Seoul City to Open 'Seobuganseon Underground Road' at 12 PM on the 1st of Next Month

Chronic Traffic Congestion on Seobu Ganseon Road Eased by 10.33km 'Seobu Ganseon Underground Road' 80m Below Ground
Revenue-Based Private Investment Toll Road... First Multi-Lane Hi-Pass Tunnel
'World Cup Bridge' Main Line Also Completed... Direct Connection to Internal Circulation Road, Expected 21% Traffic Reduction

West Arterial Underground Road Entrance and Exit (Geumcheon-gu Doksan-dong Terminal)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The deep underground tunnel ‘Seobu Ganseon Underground Road’ is being opened on the Seobu Ganseon Road, where up to 120,000 vehicles pass daily, causing chronic traffic congestion. By opening the underground road, traffic volume of 50,000 vehicles will be dispersed, reducing commute time from the southern end of Seongsan Bridge to the entrance of the Seohaean Expressway from around 30 minutes to 10 minutes during peak hours, and air quality is expected to improve.

Additionally, the ‘World Cup Bridge,’ the 31st bridge built over the Han River, is expected to reduce traffic volume on the nearby Seongsan Bridge from 150,000 to 120,000 vehicles per day, a decrease of about 21%, alleviating surrounding traffic congestion.

On the 29th, Seoul City announced that the ‘Seobu Ganseon Underground Road,’ directly connecting Yangpyeong-dong in Yeongdeungpo-gu and Doksan-dong in Geumcheon-gu, and the ‘World Cup Bridge (main line),’ connecting Jeungsan-ro in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, and Seobu Ganseon Road in Yangpyeong-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, will be simultaneously opened at 12 noon on the 1st of next month.

With the opening of the Seobu Ganseon Underground Road and World Cup Bridge, the ‘Seoul Circular Arterial Road Network’ has been completed. Previously, there was no direct road connecting Seobu Ganseon Road to the Inner Circular Road, so Seongsan Bridge had to be used. Now, the newly opened World Cup Bridge can be used. Previously, the connection was Inner Circular Road ↔ Seongsu Bridge ↔ Olympic-daero ↔ Dongbu Ganseon Road ↔ Yangjae-daero ↔ Gangnam Circular Road ↔ Seobu Ganseon Road (surface), and there was no direct road from Seobu Ganseon Road to the Inner Circular Road.

The ‘Seobu Ganseon Underground Road’ is a deep underground tunnel constructed 80 meters below the Seobu Ganseon Road along the Anyangcheon River, built in 1989. It is a 10.33 km long, four-lane road connecting Yangpyeong-dong in Yeongdeungpo-gu (southern end of Seongsan Bridge) directly to Doksan-dong in Geumcheon-gu (Seohaean Expressway Geumcheon IC). Construction began in March 2016 and was completed after 5 years and 6 months (66 months).

It is a toll road built as a Build-Transfer-Operate (BTO) project, with a toll fee of 2,500 KRW. The operating company, Seo Seoul Urban Expressway, will conduct a two-week free trial operation to avoid inconvenience to citizens and will switch to paid operation from September 15. It is a small vehicle-only road with a height limit of 3.0 meters, allowing all passenger cars, buses with a seating capacity of 15 or less, and cargo vehicles under 1 ton (total weight under 3.5 tons) to pass. As a motor vehicle-only road, motorcycles and vehicles carrying fuel or explosives are restricted.

West Arterial Underground Road Vehicle Connection Passage

The ‘multi-lane Hi-Pass’ system was introduced for the first time in a domestic underground road. Tolls are automatically charged to vehicles using Hi-Pass, Seoul City’s Baro Green Payment, and video contract services. Additionally, to prepare for emergencies such as fires and to ensure user safety, evacuation and disaster prevention facilities have been installed at disaster prevention grade 1 or higher.

Once the Seobu Ganseon Underground Road opens, the existing Seobu Ganseon Road will be converted from a motor vehicle-only road to a general road. By 2024, sidewalks, bicycle lanes, crosswalks, and at-grade intersections will be installed, and green spaces will be created, transforming it into an eco-friendly area.

Opening of World Cup Bridge, Direct Connection to Inner Circular Road... Urban Landscape Improvement

Close-up view of World Cup Bridge

The ‘World Cup Bridge’ is a 1,980-meter-long, 31.4-meter-wide six-lane bridge connecting Sangam-dong in Mapo-gu to Yeomchang-dong in Gangseo-gu and Yangpyeong-dong in Yeongdeungpo-gu, directly linking Seobu Ganseon Road and the Inner Circular Road. The name was given to commemorate the ‘2002 Korea-Japan World Cup.’

The symbolic cable-stayed bridge towers of the World Cup Bridge are shaped to represent traditional Korean stone pagodas, dangganjiju (flagpole supports), cranes, and the image of Cheongsong pine trees, and the asymmetry of the main tower and cables evokes nostalgia for Mapo Naru’s ‘Hwangpo sail mast.’ It is the first asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge built over the Han River, with a tower inclination angle of 78 degrees and the tallest height (100 meters) among bridges. Symmetrical cable-stayed bridges include Olympic Bridge and Haengju Bridge, with the tower height increasing from 88 meters at Olympic Bridge to 100 meters at World Cup Bridge, a 12-meter increase. The length from the bottom of the World Cup Bridge tower to its foundation is 27 meters, with a total length of 127 meters.

The ‘World Cup Bridge’ has the longest main span (distance between pillars) of 225 meters among bridges over the Han River to allow safe navigation of vessels passing through the Gyeongin Canal. Although Olympic Bridge has the longest span at 300 meters, it is divided into four towers (29.6 meters) and side piers, making the actual span 138.2 meters.

It was constructed as a seismic grade 1 bridge capable of withstanding a magnitude 7 earthquake. Maintenance is facilitated by advanced equipment such as movable inspection facilities under the bridge and rail cams.

The ‘World Cup Bridge’ allows access from the Inner Circular Road and Jeungsan-ro to the Seobu Ganseon Underground Road and Olympic-daero. Users can conveniently travel ▲Inner Circular Road/Jeungsan-ro → World Cup Bridge → Olympic-daero ▲Inner Circular Road/Jeungsan-ro → World Cup Bridge → Nodeul-ro (via) → Seobu Ganseon Underground Road ▲Olympic-daero → World Cup Bridge → Inner Circular Road/Jeungsan-ro, and ▲Seobu Ganseon Underground Road → World Cup Bridge → Inner Circular Road/Jeungsan-ro.

In December next year, ramps directly connecting Gonghang-daero and Anyangcheon-ro to the World Cup Bridge, and ramps exiting from the World Cup Bridge to Gonghang-daero will open, improving transportation convenience for residents in Gangseo-gu and Yangcheon-gu.

Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited the World Cup Bridge and Seobu Ganseon Underground Road ahead of the opening to inspect final preparations. He walked about 200 meters on the main line section from the northern end to the main tower of the World Cup Bridge for inspection. At the Seobu Ganseon Underground Road, he checked the air purification facilities and encouraged construction workers.

Mayor Oh Se-hoon said, “With the opening of the Seobu Ganseon Underground Road and the main line of the World Cup Bridge, it will take about 10 minutes to reach from the southern end of Seongsan Bridge to the Seohaean Expressway during commute hours,” adding, “We expect significant relief of chronic traffic congestion not only on Seongsan Bridge and surrounding roads but also in the southwestern region of Seoul.”

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