Schematic diagram of the road widening plan from Yangmei to Toufen on National Highway No. 1.

(Provided by Gaogong Bureau)

[Reporter Ding Yi/Taipei Report] The traffic volume of National Highway No. 1 in Hsinchu continues to grow, and it has become a "recurring congestion section".

In order to improve the traffic on the Hsinchu National Highway, the Highway Bureau of the Ministry of Communications plans to extend the Wuyang Elevated Road to Toufen, and to widen 1 to 3 lanes in both directions on the National 1 Yangmei-Toufen road section. The estimated budget is 113 billion, and the project is 36 kilometers long. In 2031 It was completed and passed the environmental assessment of the Environmental Protection Agency today (15th).

EIA approval is expected to be completed in 2031

The Gaogong Bureau pointed out that the feasibility study of the project will start in 2018, and the Executive Yuan will approve it in 2023. After two preliminary review meetings of the Environmental Protection Agency, it passed the environmental impact assessment review today. The construction design will be submitted as soon as possible, and the project is expected to be completed in 2031.

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Shi Bowen, section chief of the planning team of the Gaogong Bureau, said that the environmental impact assessment has just passed, and there is only an estimated completion time. At present, the site has not been obtained, the design has not been completed, and there is no exact bidding and construction start time. It will be announced in due course.

Shi Bowen pointed out that the plan starts from the end of the Wuyang widening project in the north and ends at the Toufen Interchange in the south. The total length is about 36 kilometers, and the ramp is about 40.5 kilometers. The construction section involves tunnels, and the amount of work is huge.

Shi Bowen pointed out that 1 to 3 lanes will be widened according to different road sections. The north of the Hsinchu system is expected to widen 2 to 3 lanes, and the south of the Hsinchu system will be widened with a single lane. Considering the need for traffic flow conversion between elevated roads and planes, it will be exchanged in Zhubei A transfer road is set up on the north side of the road, so that the plane traffic flow can be transferred to the expressway.

After the widening is completed, it can effectively divert long-distance and short-distance passers-by. Shi Bowen said that at present, this road section has 6 two-way lanes, which are often congested by the traffic flow of Hsinchu Science Park, and the new elevated lane almost completely follows the main road corridor, and no interchange road is planned. , in order to facilitate the diversion of long-distance and short-distance passers-by, and achieve the effect of relieving congestion.

However, ramps will still be set up on the elevated section to connect to the Hsinchu System Interchange, connecting National Highway No. 3 to Qielong, and connecting the road network in series.

The Gaogong Bureau said that after the widening project between Yangmei and Toufen is completed and opened to traffic, it can effectively separate long-distance and short-distance traffic flows, improve traffic congestion, increase driving speed, and greatly reduce driving time; it can also expand the Wuyang elevated road to meet the development needs of the Hsinchu area Service performance, restore the intercity transportation function of the national highway.