'Leading Comprehensive Development in Northern Incheon'... Seogu Gyeongseo~Wanggil Private Tunnel Project 추진

Incheon City announced on the 28th that it will promote the construction of Jungbong Tunnel, connecting Gyeongseo-dong and Wanggil-dong in Seo-gu, as a leading project of the comprehensive development plan for the northern region.

Jungbong Tunnel is a 4.56 km long, 4-lane one-way automobile-only road connecting Gyeongseo Samgeori to Geomdan 2 Intersection, passing underneath the Gyeongin Ara Waterway.

The project will be carried out as a private investment project with a total budget of 355.1 billion KRW. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2027, and after five years of construction, the private operator will manage the tunnel for 40 years following its opening.

Once the tunnel opens, together with the Sungin Underpass currently under construction, the north-south arterial road network connecting Songdo International City and Geomdan New City will be completed. This will reduce vehicle travel time from the original downtown area of Michuhol-gu to Geomdan by approximately 13 minutes, giving momentum to the comprehensive development plan for northern Incheon.

In the past, this route was designated as an urban planning facility road in 1986, but due to geographical factors such as Incheon International Country Club (golf course), Gyeongin Ara Waterway, and the Seoul Metropolitan Landfill, excessive project costs made it difficult to proceed as a public project, leading to the expiration of the urban planning facility designation in July 2020.

Subsequently, to establish the disconnected road network, Incheon City reflected the tunnel section between Gyeongseo-dong and Wanggil-dong as a traffic congestion road in July 2021, securing grounds for national funding support and improving project feasibility to attract private investment projects.

With the receipt of private proposals for the construction and operation of Jungbong Tunnel, the city plans to request a feasibility study for the private investment project from the Public Investment Management Center of the Korea Development Institute (KDI) after consultations with related agencies.

Location map of Jungbong Tunnel between Gyeongseo and Wanggil, Seo-gu, Incheon [Provided by Incheon City]

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