O Se-hoon Visits Madrid, Spain to Kick Off Road Space Reorganization... Gangbyeonbuk-ro Underground, Park Above

Creating Citizen Leisure Space Above Underpass: Visit to Madrid's 'Rio Park'
Chronic Congestion on 'Gangbyeonbuk-ro' and 'Gyeongbu Expressway' Reconstruction Plans
Restoring Road Function, Overcoming Regional Division, Creating Green and Leisure Spaces, Enhancing Urban Competitiveness through 3D Use of Ground and Underground

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government is set to actively promote the undergrounding of the ‘Gangbyeonbuk-ro’ along the Han River and the ‘Gyeongbu Expressway’ that runs through the city center. The space above will be developed into various leisure and cultural spaces, parks and green areas, and facilities needed by the local community for citizens.

During his visit to Madrid, Spain, Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited ‘Rio Park’ on the 26th (local time) to directly observe the successful case of transforming the waterfront space, which had been divided by an above-ground road, into a representative citizen leisure space of Madrid through undergrounding the road. ‘Rio Park’ is a large-scale 8km-long waterfront park created above the M30 highway near the Manzanares River in Madrid, which was restructured underground in 2007. It is regarded as a model case that not only transformed a space divided by a road into a waterfront park but also resolved above-ground traffic issues.

Seoul plans to actively promote the reorganization of road spaces in the future. In particular, through the undergrounding of ‘Gangbyeonbuk-ro’ and ‘Gyeongbu Expressway,’ which are adjacent to the Han River and the city center respectively, the city envisions rebirth of the above-ground areas previously occupied by roads into spaces that incorporate various functions such as waterfront, leisure, and culture.

Additionally, Mayor Oh held a meeting with Madrid Mayor Jos? Luis Mart?nez-Almeida at Madrid City Hall on the same day and signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen friendly cooperation between the two cities. Madrid, the capital of Spain, is the country’s financial and economic hub with the fourth-largest economy in the EU by total GDP, hosting global banks such as Santander and BBVA. It is also highly regarded in terms of quality of life, boasting the highest life expectancy in Europe (85.5 years) and a high green space ratio (36%).

Through this agreement, the two cities have agreed to strengthen cooperation in areas such as urban planning, infrastructure development, culture, and tourism. In particular, Madrid is expected to provide significant assistance in related fields as it is a city that presents successful directions in infrastructure sectors directly linked to citizens’ quality of life, such as securing urban green spaces through road space reorganization.

Mayor Oh stated, "In a situation where exchanges between overseas cities have decreased due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this agreement with Madrid is expected to serve as an opportunity to revitalize exchanges with foreign cities."

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