Nationwide Highway Traffic Jams Continue... "Return Trip Congestion Peaks Between 4 and 5 PM"

Road Corporation "Severe Congestion Expected in Both Directions"
Return Traffic Jam Expected to Continue Until Early Dawn Tomorrow

On the 8th, one day before the Chuseok holiday, traffic congestion continued on the southbound lanes (right side) of the Gyeongbu Expressway as seen from Jamwon IC in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Myunghwan Lee] On the morning of the 10th, Chuseok day, as the flow of people traveling to and from their hometowns continued, traffic congestion formed on major highways nationwide. The congestion on the return trip is expected to peak between 4 and 5 p.m. that day.

According to Korea Expressway Corporation, as of 8 a.m. that day, the Gyeongbu Expressway heading toward Busan was congested over a total distance of 44 km, including 2 km from Banpo to Seocho, 7 km near Jukjeon to Suwon, 15 km near Giheung-Dongtan to Namsa, 14 km from Manghyang Rest Area to Mokcheon, 4 km from Cheonan Rest Area to near Oksan Junction, and 2 km near Oksan Rest Area to Oksan. The Seoul-bound direction was moving slowly over a 7 km section from Yangjae to Banpo.

The Yeongdong Expressway toward Gangneung was congested over 15 km near Singal Junction to Yangji Tunnel and 5 km near Yeoju Rest Area to Yeoju Junction. Traffic toward Incheon was smooth.

The Seohaean Expressway toward Mokpo had slow-moving traffic over 3 km near Sunsan Tunnel to Palgok Tunnel and 16 km near Balan to Seohae Bridge. The Jungbu Expressway toward Namyi was congested over a total of 20 km, including 8 km from Hanam Junction to Sangok Junction, 4 km near Gyeonggi Gwangju Junction, and 4 km from Hobeop Junction to Moga.

The Seoul-Yangyang Expressway toward Yangyang was moving slowly over a 15 km section from Gangil to Hwado, and the Jungbu Naeryuk Expressway toward Changwon was slow over a 9 km section from Yeoju Junction to near Gamgok.

Korea Expressway Corporation stated, "Today, with a mix of travel for ancestral rites and visiting relatives, severe congestion is expected in both directions," and added, "It is anticipated that the highest number of vehicles will use the highways during the holiday period."

The hometown-bound direction is expected to start congestion between 6 and 7 a.m., peak between 1 and 2 p.m., and clear by 8 to 9 p.m. The return-bound direction is expected to begin congestion from 9 to 10 a.m., peak between 4 and 5 p.m., and clear by 2 to 3 a.m. on the 11th.

The estimated nationwide traffic volume for the day is about 6.49 million vehicles. Approximately 490,000 vehicles are expected to move from the metropolitan area to local regions, and 480,000 vehicles from local regions to the metropolitan area. As of 9 a.m., the estimated travel time by passenger car from Seoul Tollgate to major cities nationwide is 7 hours to Busan, 6 hours 40 minutes to Ulsan, 6 hours to Daegu, 5 hours 30 minutes to Gwangju, 3 hours 50 minutes to Gangneung, and 2 hours 50 minutes to Daejeon.

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