Chronic traffic congestion in Uijeongbu’s Minrak 2nd District and Gosan District is expected to be dramatically improved.
Uijeongbu City (Mayor Dong-geun Kim) is promoting the ‘Minrak Tollgate (TG) Bypass Road Construction Project’ to resolve traffic inconveniences for residents of Minrak 2 Public Housing District and Gosan Public Housing District.
Currently, there are large retail facilities such as Costco and Walmart in the northeastern part of Minrak 2nd District, so on weekends, visitors from neighboring cities and counties and the northern part of Seoul are concentrated, and traffic congestion is serious on Minrak-ro (Minrak Intersection – Songyang Elementary School Intersection), Songyang-ro, and Costco Intersection.
In addition, as the northern part of Minrak 2nd District and a part of the northern part of Gosan District are adjacent, after the first completion of Gosan District in August 2021, traffic volume for commuting residents of Gosan District has been added to Yongmin-ro and Costco intersection in Minrak 2nd District and Munchung-ro in Gosan District, resulting in extreme traffic congestion on weekends and during rush hour.
Minrak 2nd District and Gosan District are separated to the east and west by Mt. Buyong, and there was a problem that in order to move between the central areas of public housing districts, a detour of about 4 km around Mt. Buyong had to be taken.
Initially, the city requested the private operator of the Guripocheon Expressway to temporarily open the turnaround road passing through the Minrak tollgate, but the private operator strongly opposed the plan, citing difficulties in operating the Minrak tollgate, making it difficult to push forward.
Accordingly, a task force (TF) consisting of 10 transportation experts was formed in April to review and discuss various alternatives and establish the Minrak Tollgate Bypass Project as the final transportation improvement measure.
In May, he visited the joint meeting of relevant organizations attended by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Korea Expressway Corporation, and Seoul Northern Expressway Corporation, and explained the necessity and urgency of opening a connecting road between Minrak 2nd District and Gosan District using the Minrak Tollgate Bypass, and requested active support for the project.
Through this project, which was created thanks to such efforts, it is expected that both residents of Minrak 2nd District and Gosan District will be able to resolve traffic inconveniences due to shorter travel times and distances.
When the Minrak tollgate bypass is newly constructed, traffic congestion on Songyang-ro in Minrak District 2 is expected to be significantly improved, with travel time shortened by approximately 15 to 20 minutes as traffic volume is dispersed.
In particular, the level of transportation service is expected to rise by one level at Songyang Elementary School intersection from E to D, and at Costco intersection from D to C on weekdays.
The city plans to begin work on determining road sections this month to improve the Minrak tollgate turnaround, and to hold discussions with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and other related organizations with the goal of opening in December next year.
Mayor Kim Dong-geun said, “I hope that the Minrak tollgate bypass project will alleviate traffic inconveniences for residents of the Minrak and Gosan districts,” and added, “I will do my best to complete the project as soon as possible.”
Economy Queen Reporter Hongmi Kim / Photo Uijeongbu City
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2024-09-11 08:29:32