Pyeongtaek International Bridge and Pyeongtaek Lake Crossing Road Finally Open

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] The Pyeongtaek International Bridge (1.35 km long) and Pyeongtaek Lake Crossing Road (4.36 km long) have been completed. Pyeongtaek's southern Pansong-eup and western Hyunduk-myeon are now connected via the shortest route, and balanced development of Pyeongtaek City is expected.

The city held a completion ceremony for the Pyeongtaek Lake Crossing Road construction project (Section 2) on the International Bridge on the 20th.

Around 300 attendees participated, including Mayor Jeong Jang-seon, Pyeongtaek City Council Chairman Kwon Young-hwa, National Assembly members Won Yoo-cheol and Yoo Ui-dong, provincial and municipal council members, Gyeonggi Province officials, and local residents.

Official opening begins at 10 a.m. on the 22nd, two days after the ceremony. The city expects the opening to help alleviate traffic congestion during the Lunar New Year holiday period.

The Pyeongtaek Lake Crossing Road construction project (11.69 km long), scheduled for completion in 2022, has been pursued since 2006 as a regional development project following the relocation of the U.S. military base in Korea. The Pyeongtaek International Bridge section involved 191.5 billion won in total project costs, with construction beginning in March 2014 and completed in December 2019.

It was not easy. In August 2017, an accident occurred in which part of the International Bridge toppled. Based on the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's accident investigation results, the city implemented a construction method change (steel composite girder) for the bridge's superstructure and conducted a safety diagnosis of remaining structures to ensure bridge safety as the top priority before reconstruction, the city announced.

In addition, the road and bridge have been installed with sidewalks 3-5 meters wide and a bicycle path, which connects to the Ansungcheon riverside bicycle road network, enhancing convenience for pedestrians and cyclists. Landscape lighting including LED lighting has been installed on the bridge's arch. A viewpoint park offering views of the natural scenery of the International Bridge and Ansungcheon has been created at Godeungsan above Shinwang Tunnel, providing citizens with leisure space.

With the road opening, the southern and western regions of Pyeongtaek City, which were previously separated by Ansungcheon, are now directly connected, alleviating inconvenience caused by long detours. In addition to distributing traffic volume from nearby roads such as National Routes 38 and 39, smooth transport of materials has become possible through direct connection between the U.S. military base and Pyeongtaek Port.

Furthermore, enhanced accessibility to the western region is expected to revitalize the Pyeongtaek Lake tourism complex and resolve the unbalanced development between the eastern and western areas.

Mayor Jeong Jang-seon stated, “I am grateful to the project-related personnel who made efforts for this long-cherished road construction and to the local residents who cooperated actively,” and added, “We plan to do our best to pursue comfortable and safe road policies going forward.”