Paju City to Significantly Improve Traffic System from Garam Library to Seolmun Interchange (IC) Section

Chronic Rush Hour Congestion Expected to Ease
Signal System Overhaul and Lane Adjustments Underway

Paju City in Gyeonggi Province is launching a full-scale project to improve the traffic signal system in order to resolve chronic congestion between the Garam Library intersection and the Seolmun Interchange (IC) section.

Paju City, Significant Improvement in Traffic System from Garam Library to Seolmun Interchange (IC). Provided by Paju City

This stretch has seen persistent complaints from citizens due to severe traffic jams during rush hours. In particular, the inefficient signal system and disconnected signal coordination at the Garam Library intersection and the Sangjiseok intersection have been identified as the main causes of these issues.

In practice, during morning rush hours, congestion occurs over approximately 2.21 kilometers from the Garam Library intersection to the Sangjiseok 2nd intersection. In the evenings, the same stretch experiences congestion in the opposite direction, resulting in chronic traffic jams.

To improve traffic flow in this area, Paju City will undertake several measures: readjustment of lanes at the Garam Library intersection, simplification of the signal system, and optimization of signal coordination between intersections.

First, at the Garam Library intersection, the city will realign lanes toward Jisan Elementary School to improve left-turn and through traffic flow. The current system, where traffic lights change six times, will be reduced to four cycles, simplifying signal operation. Additionally, a traffic island will be installed in front of the library, reducing the pedestrian crossing distance by about 9 meters and shortening the crossing time by approximately 13 seconds, thereby enhancing the pedestrian environment as well.

Furthermore, from the Sangjiseok intersection to the Seolmun Interchange (IC), the two existing signal coordination groups will be integrated into a single group. This will optimize traffic flow toward the interchange during morning rush hours and toward the new town during evening rush hours, ensuring smoother traffic in both directions.

This project has been coordinated with the Paju Police Station. After public outreach to citizens in April, lane adjustments and signal system improvements will be implemented starting April 21. The installation of the traffic island will be carried out in phases starting in September.

A Paju City official stated, "We expect that these traffic system improvements will significantly alleviate chronic congestion during rush hours," adding, "We will continue to pursue enhancements to the traffic environment to reduce citizen inconvenience."

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