Opening of Changnyeong~Miryang Section on Hamyang~Ulsan Expressway on the 18th ... Driving Time Significantly Reduced

Park Wan-su, Governor of Gyeongnam: "Important Road to Promote Gyeongnam Tourism"

The Changnyeong~Miryang section of the Hamyang~Ulsan Expressway will be fully opened from 10 a.m. on the 28th.

Gyeongnam Province held a road opening ceremony at Miryang Rest Area (Ulsan direction) on the afternoon of the 27th to celebrate the full opening.

Attendees at the event included Governor Park Wan-su, Baek Won-guk, 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Ham Jin-gyu, President of Korea Expressway Corporation, Congressman Park Sang-woong, Vice Chairman Park In of the Gyeongnam Provincial Council, Mayor Ahn Byung-gu of Miryang, and County Head Seong Nak-in of Changnyeong.

Park Wan-su, Governor of Gyeongnam Province (fourth from the left), is attending the opening ceremony of the Changnyeong~Miryang section of the Hamyang~Ulsan Expressway, celebrating the road opening. Photo by Gyeongnam Provincial Government

Constructed over about eight years since 2016, this road is a four-lane dual carriageway with a total length of 28.54 km, connecting Jangma-myeon in Changnyeong County to Sanoe-myeon in Miryang City, with a total project cost of 1.6832 trillion won.

With the opening of this road, it will connect to the 45.2 km Miryang~Ulsan section that was opened earlier in 2020, completing the 72.74 km Changnyeong~Ulsan section of the 144.55 km Hamyang~Ulsan Expressway.

As a result of this road opening, the driving distance will be shortened by 13.5 km, and the vehicle travel time from Jangma-myeon to Sanoe-myeon, which previously took 63 minutes, is expected to be greatly reduced to about 17 minutes.

Route map of the Hamyang~Ulsan Expressway section from Changnyeong to Miryang. Provided by Gyeongnam Provincial Government

Gyeongnam Province expects that this road opening will significantly contribute to improving accessibility in the Changnyeong~Miryang~Ulsan area, alleviating chronic congestion on existing expressways such as the Jungbu Naeryuk Expressway, Jungang Expressway, Namhae Expressway, and Busan Outer Ring Expressway, thereby enhancing transportation convenience for residents.

Furthermore, it is anticipated to quickly connect the central region of Gyeongnam with key cities such as Busan, Ulsan, and Pohang, facilitating smooth logistics transport and revitalizing the regional tourism industry.

Governor Park said in his welcoming remarks, “This expressway is expected to play an important role as an industrial road that activates exchanges with industrial cities in the East Sea region such as Ulsan, as well as a tourism road that can promote Gyeongnam’s tourist destinations,” adding, “It will connect the east and west of Gyeongnam and bring great synergy to the development of inland regions.”

The province plans to work closely with Korea Expressway Corporation to support the construction of the remaining section of the Hamyang~Ulsan Expressway, the 70.84 km Hamyang~Changnyeong section, which is targeted for completion in 2026, aiming for the full opening of the entire route within the scheduled period.

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