30 Minutes in 5 Minutes... Half-Century Dream 'Geoje East-West Connecting Road' Opens January 10 in the New Year

Map of the project section of the Geoje-dong West-East Connecting Road in Geoje-si, Gyeongnam. [Image source=Geoje-si]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Sang-hyun] The long-awaited Geoje East-West Connecting Road for the citizens of Geoje, Gyeongnam, will open from 7 a.m. on January 10, 2022.

On the 31st, Geoje City, Gyeongnam, held an opening ceremony for the 'Geoje East-West Connecting Road.' About 90 people attended the ceremony, including Mayor Byeon Gwang-yong, City Council Chairman Ok Young-moon, and City Council Vice Chairman Shin Geum-ja.

Started in 2017, the Geoje East-West Connecting Road project invested a total project cost of approximately 74 billion KRW to create a 4.06 km section connecting Sangmun-dong Intersection, Myeongjin Intersection, and Geoje-myeon Sanchon Intersection. The expected traffic volume is about 19,000 vehicles per day.

With the road opening, the existing 30-minute distance is drastically reduced to within 5 minutes, improving accessibility between Geoje downtown and the western and southern regions. It is also expected to help the Geoje-Busan living area through the Geoga Bridge and attract external tourists.

Mayor Byeon said, "I thank the residents who have patiently waited quietly for many years," and added, "We will ensure that the opening of the East-West Connecting Road is well established as a foothold for balanced regional development, and we will prepare measures for anticipated issues such as increased traffic volume in downtown areas."

The city will first excavate and open one of the two two-lane tunnels on the Geoje East-West Connecting Road, and for the remaining tunnel, it plans to promptly seek ways to open it through various measures such as upgrading it to a national highway.

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