ULSAN — A plan to build a new national highway linking Cheongnyang and Beomseo in Ulju County has cleared the government's preliminary feasibility study, clearing the way for a north-south arterial route intended to ease traffic congestion in central Ulsan.
The Ulsan Metropolitan Government said on the 27th that the project passed review by the Ministry of Planning and Budget's fiscal investment evaluation committee. It will go before the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's road policy deliberation council in the second half of this year before being finalized in the sixth national and local highway construction plan covering 2026 through 2030.
The project will build a 7.7-kilometer, four-lane road running from Yulli in Cheongnyang-eup, Ulju County, to the Daun 2 public housing district in Beomseo-eup. Total project cost is 391.4 billion won ($283 million).
National Highway 14, which currently runs through the city center along Daehak-ro and the Daungyo intersection, carries 65,897 vehicles a day and has fallen to level F, the lowest service grade, effectively losing its function as an arterial road. Officials have warned of gridlock if that load is compounded by additional demand from large-scale residential developments, including Seonbawi with 82,000 vehicles, the Daun 2 district with 68,000, the Yulhyeon district with 17,000 and the Taehwa riverside area with 7,000.
The city won approval under a bundled feasibility review after repeatedly making its case to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Planning and Budget and the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, arguing for a north-south road network and relief from chronic congestion. Ulsan first asked the central government in March 2024 to include the route in the sixth construction plan.
Once the road opens, some 3,000 commuters a day are expected to cut 12 minutes from their travel time, generating annual benefits of 6.4 billion won, according to the city's analysis. The city also expects better access between key hubs and improved road safety as traffic disperses away from the city center.
"This is a core road network that will create 6.4 billion won in value each year by cutting travel time for commuters and greatly improve mobility for residents," Ulsan Mayor Kim Sang-wook said. "We will concentrate all our capabilities on negotiations with the central government so that it is reflected without a hitch in the sixth national and local highway construction plan that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will finalize."
