The "Gwangandaegyo access road," which will help disperse traffic on Suyeong Riverside Road and Haeundae-ro in Busan, opens on the 22nd.
With the opening of the Gwangandaegyo access road, travel time from the new town in Busan to the Wondong interchange (IC) intersection is expected to be cut by about 10 minutes.
To connect the new town in Haeundae District and Centum City, the city of Busan pushed ahead with the project from 2017 to 2025 with a total budget of 41.2 billion won (fully funded by the city). After starting with a feasibility study in 2017 and going through design services, construction began in 2023. The work was completed in three years as originally planned.
A Busan city official said, "Even though we mainly used nighttime work and partial road closures to minimize inconvenience to residents, we completed the process without delays."
According to the city of Busan, Gwangandaegyo will fully implement the "smart tolling system" from Feb. 1. Accordingly, the upper and lower sections of the tollgate at Busan Exhibition & Convention Center (BEXCO) have been completely removed.
Park Heong-joon, mayor of Busan, said, "With the opening of this Gwangandaegyo access road, much of the chronic congestion in Haeundae will be eased, and improved access to Gwangandaegyo will greatly enhance residents' travel convenience," adding, "We will continue to pursue policies on various fronts to alleviate traffic congestion."