'End of Chuseok' Highway Congestion on Return Trip... Peak Expected Between 4 and 5 PM

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] On the day after Chuseok, the 11th, traffic congestion is occurring on various sections of the highways as vehicles return home.

According to the Korea Expressway Corporation, as of 9 a.m. that day, the estimated travel time by passenger car from major cities nationwide to the Seoul tollgate is 6 hours 40 minutes from Busan, 6 hours from Ulsan, 5 hours 20 minutes from Daegu, 4 hours 30 minutes from Gwangju, 2 hours 40 minutes from Gangneung, and 2 hours 20 minutes from Daejeon.

The travel time from the Seoul tollgate to major cities nationwide is 4 hours 50 minutes to Busan, 4 hours 30 minutes to Ulsan, 3 hours 50 minutes to Daegu, 3 hours 20 minutes to Gwangju, 2 hours 40 minutes to Gangneung, and 1 hour 40 minutes to Daejeon.

As of 8 a.m. that day, on the Gyeongbu Expressway heading toward Seoul, there is congestion over a total of 7 km near Mokcheon to Cheonan Junction (3 km), near Cheongju Rest Area (2 km), and from near Oksan to Oksan (2 km).

On the Seohaean Expressway heading toward Seoul, there is congestion over an 8 km section from Dangjin to Songak.

On the Nonsan-Cheonan Expressway heading toward Cheonan, congestion occurs over 12 km sections including Namgongju IC to Gongju JCT Pyeongmokgyo (6 km) and Yeonmu IC to Seononsan IC Wonnamgyo (6 km).

On the Jungbu Naeryuk Expressway heading toward Yangpyeong, vehicles are moving slowly over 9 km sections including near Yeoju Junction (1 km), near Chungju Junction to near Chungju Junction (2 km), near Mungyeong 2 Tunnel to near Mungyeong Saejae Tunnel (2 km), and from Mungyeong Saejae to near Mungyeong 2 Tunnel (4 km).

Traffic congestion in the direction of returning home is expected to begin between 9 and 10 a.m., peak around 4 to 5 p.m., and clear by around 2 to 3 a.m. on the 12th.

Traffic congestion in the direction of going to hometowns is expected to start between 10 and 11 a.m., peak around 4 to 5 p.m., and clear by around 8 to 9 p.m.

The Expressway Corporation explained, "Since it is the day after Chuseok, heavy congestion is expected in the direction of returning home from the morning until the early hours of the 12th, but the congestion level is expected to be lower than the previous day."

The expected nationwide traffic volume for the day is about 5.43 million vehicles, with 380,000 vehicles moving from the metropolitan area to local areas and 540,000 vehicles moving from local areas to the metropolitan area.

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