Wando-gun Accelerates Construction of the Long-Awaited 'Nohwa-Soan Yeondogyo' Bridge

'Upgrade to Local Road' Expected to Improve Residents' Living Conditions

The inter-island bridge between Nohwa and Soan, under construction in 1 to 2 phases. Photo by Wando County

[Wando＝Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Kyung-pil] Wando-gun, Jeollanam-do, has gained momentum in the construction of the long-awaited Nohwa-Soan connecting bridge.

Previously, Jeollanam-do upgraded the Wando~Goheung national road to a national highway in May last year as part of the ‘2nd National Road Network Comprehensive Plan’ and, considering changes in traffic demand and conditions, upgraded the grade of city and county roads to provincial roads.

Accordingly, the section from Songji to Nohwa-eup to Soan-myeon (25.7 km), which had been a non-statutory road, was designated as Provincial Road No. 806.

As the section connecting the end of the Korean Peninsula mainland and the southwestern islands has been upgraded to a provincial road, enabling the securing of funds such as national and provincial subsidies, the construction of the Nohwa~Soan connecting bridge is also expected to be expedited.

Meanwhile, the construction of this connecting bridge is being promoted in two phases, and the first phase section, the Nohwa~Gudo connecting bridge, was opened in 2017.

Until now, the county has continuously petitioned the Blue House, National Assembly, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport regarding the necessity and feasibility of the second phase section, the Gudo~Soan connecting bridge, but it was repeatedly rejected because it was not a statutory road.

However, with the recent upgrade to a provincial road signaling a green light for project promotion, the construction of the connecting bridge is expected to gain momentum.

Additionally, the ‘Gudo~Soan connecting bridge construction’ project has been included in the 20th Jeollanam-do Daeseong pledge policy tasks, and this year’s government budget includes 500 million KRW in national funds for feasibility study costs, allowing the project to accelerate.

A county official expressed hope, saying, “With this provincial road upgrade connecting the island area to the mainland, inconveniences related to drinking water, transportation, daily life, culture, and education for island residents will be resolved.”

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