Seoul~Yangpyeong Expressway Passes Preliminary Feasibility Study...Gyeonggi Province's Efforts Bear Fruit

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hun] Efforts by Gyeonggi Province have given a green light to the promotion of the 'Seoul~Yangpyeong Expressway Construction Project' that runs east-west through the southeastern Seoul metropolitan region.

According to Gyeonggi Province on the 3rd, the Seoul~Yangpyeong Expressway Construction Project passed the final preliminary feasibility study by the Ministry of Economy and Finance's Financial Project Evaluation Committee on the 30th.

The 'Seoul~Yangpyeong Expressway Construction Project' involves constructing a four-lane expressway totaling 27km in length connecting Gamil-dong in Hanam, passing through Gwangju, and reaching Yangseo-myeon in Yangpyeong, fulfilling a long-held aspiration of residents in southeastern Gyeonggi Province.

The road was reflected in the First Five-Year Plan for Expressway Construction in 2017, and the preliminary feasibility study was launched in 2019, but as the announcement of the feasibility study results was delayed, there was concern that passage would be difficult.

In particular, despite Yangpyeong County being classified as a non-Seoul metropolitan area according to feasibility study regulations, it was classified as a Seoul metropolitan project, which excluded regional balanced development items from evaluation, creating an unfavorable situation with unclear prospects for passing the feasibility study.

In response, the province, together with Yangpyeong County, requested the Ministry of Economy and Finance to reclassify the Seoul~Yangpyeong Expressway Construction Project as a non-Seoul metropolitan project, while requesting that the policy evaluation component be evaluated as highly as possible.

As a result, the Seoul~Yangpyeong Expressway Construction Project showed 0.82 in the economic analysis (B/C) section, but recorded 0.508 in the AHP section that determines final feasibility, exceeding the 0.5 or above feasibility criteria, thereby passing the feasibility study.

Once the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway is constructed, the First and Second Seoul Metropolitan Circumferential Expressways will connect in a radial pattern, significantly improving the main arterial transportation system in the southeastern Seoul metropolitan region and is expected to provide major momentum for the development of the eastern region of Namyangju, Hanam, Gwangju, and Yangpyeong.

Lee Ki-min, director of the Road Policy Division at Gyeonggi Province, said, "The Seoul~Yangpyeong Expressway was absolutely necessary to resolve chronic traffic congestion on National Route 6 and achieve balanced development in the southeastern Gyeonggi region," adding, "We find it very meaningful that the efforts of Gyeonggi Province and Yangpyeong County, including recommendations to central government ministries, have borne fruit in the form of passing the feasibility study."