The Yongin-Chin Young underground expressway construction project and the Changwon-Jinyoung expressway expansion project have been selected as subjects for a preliminary feasibility study.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport made this decision at the financial project evaluation committee held on the 20th. The construction project for the Geoje-Tongyeong expressway and the expansion project for National Route 15 from Goheung to Bongrae passed the preliminary feasibility study.
The Yongin-Chin Young underground expressway project involves constructing a four-lane, bidirectional expressway connecting Yongin, Suwon, and Gwacheon. The total distance, including a 21.1 km underground tunnel, is 30.0 km.
The Yongin-Suwon section was selected for the preliminary feasibility study to increase road capacity by constructing an underground expressway beneath the existing expressway and to alleviate chronic traffic congestion above the Yeongdong Expressway.
The Suwon-Gwacheon section aims to drastically reduce travel times toward Gwacheon and Seoul from the southern part of the metropolitan area by constructing a new north-south expressway linked to the Isoo-Gwacheon road, which is currently being promoted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
This project has been promoted as part of the second national road network comprehensive plan in 2021 and the second expressway construction plan in 2022. It was applied for as a preliminary feasibility study subject last June and was selected for the study in this financial project evaluation.
Another project selected for the preliminary feasibility study is the Namhae Expressway Changwon-Chin Young expressway expansion project, which focuses on expanding the segment from Changwon Junction (JCT) to Dongchangwon IC from eight lanes to ten lanes over a distance of 4.8 km.
This segment has a daily traffic volume exceeding 120,000 vehicles, resulting in a service level of D. The need for expansion has been continuously raised due to the imbalance in lane numbers with connecting routes such as the Namhae and Busan Outer Ring Expressways.
The construction project for the Geoje-Tongyeong expressway passed the preliminary feasibility study. This project will establish a four-lane, bidirectional expressway over 20.9 km from Sangmun-dong in Geoje City to Yongnam-myeon in Tongyeong City.
This project was initiated to enhance expressway accessibility to Geoje City, an area lacking expressway connections, and to improve logistics access to the Okpo and Jukdo marine specialized national industrial complexes. It was incorporated into the second expressway construction plan in 2022, and the preliminary feasibility study commenced in February this year, leading to its success in passing the study.
The expansion project for National Route 15 from Goheung to Bongrae involves expanding the existing two lanes to four lanes over a segment of 31.7 km between Goheung-eup and Bongrae-myeon in Goheung County, Jeollanam-do. This supports a state agenda to establish a space launch vehicle industrial cluster in Bongrae-myeon. It was quickly selected as a preliminary feasibility study subject in February for support of the space industry.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport noted that "the projects selected or approved for the preliminary feasibility study are expected to play a significant role in alleviating chronic traffic congestion on expressways between metropolitan areas and, in consolidating expressways to underprivileged areas, in promoting balanced regional development."