Chronic traffic congestion for 280,000 new-town residents in northern Incheon, including Geomdan and Gyeyang, is set to ease. As the severed road section that divided the old city center and new towns is connected, the distance from Incheon City Hall to Geomdan will grow much closer.
Incheon Metropolitan City announced Wednesday that the Bongodae-Gyeongmyeongdae congestion road construction project has passed a preliminary feasibility study by the Ministry of Planning and Budget. The total project cost is 209.8 billion won, of which 97.7 billion won in state funds has been secured.
The project will build a new 2.9-kilometer road connecting Hyoseong-dong in Gyeyang-gu and Gongchon-dong in Seo-gu. The 20-meter-wide, four-lane road will include a 0.1-kilometer bridge and a 1.5-kilometer tunnel. The target is the "missing link" section that had been cut off between Bongodae-ro and Gyeongmyeong-daero.
The road will serve as a vessel to handle the traffic that will pour out from the development of the Geomdan, Hyoseong, Gyeyang, and Bucheon Daejang new towns. The development scale alone amounts to about 280,000 people. It will complete the north-south trunk network, dovetailing with the Hyoseong Urban Development District access road in 2027 and the Geomdan-Gyeongmyeong-ro road construction project in 2028.
The effect is revealed in travel times. Vehicles that had crowded onto Seogot-ro and Gyeyang-daero will be dispersed, easing habitual congestion. Travel time from Incheon City Hall to major areas of Geomdan will be cut by 13 minutes, and from Geomdan District Office to Bupyeong Station by 8 minutes.
This approval marks the first time a transportation pledge by Incheon Mayor Park Chan-dae has borne fruit. Since taking office, Park has promised to build a road network of five east-west axes and six north-south axes.
"The Bongodae-Gyeongmyeongdae project is a core project that will raise transportation welfare in the northern district and drive balanced development between the old city center and new towns," Park said. "We will cooperate with central government ministries, including the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, to push forward with follow-up procedures without a hitch." He added, "We will complete a grid-type ring road network to achieve transportation innovation that citizens can feel."
