Construction of Second Gyeongbu and Outer Ring Roads Urgent

The Gyeonggi Research Institute and Korea Transportation Association held a 'Metropolitan Region Transportation Policy Forum' on the 3rd at the Bank of Korea Building in Seoul, attended by Gyeonggi Governor Kim Moon-soo, government officials, and academic experts.

At the forum, Professor Lee Soo-bum of Seoul City University argued that the construction of the Second Gyeongbu Expressway and Second Outer Ring Road is urgent to alleviate traffic congestion in the metropolitan region.

In his keynote address, Professor Lee stated, "Private sector apartment complex development projects have concentrated on the Gyeongbu axis, reducing the Gyeongbu Expressway to a commuting route for Seoul workers residing in the southern regions of the metropolitan area," adding "the construction of new expressways is urgent."

Gyeonggi Province's annual average population growth rate is 3.1%, with the population increasing by 300,000 each year. Furthermore, the increase in vehicle registrations over the past five years has recorded 7.1%, exceeding the metropolitan average of 5.1%, indicating that traffic congestion is worsening, according to the professor's analysis.

Regarding the Second Gyeongbu line route, Professor Lee proposed that the Seo-Hanam IC to Yongin section maintain sufficient distance from the Gyeongbu and Jungang Expressways, bypass Seongnam city and Namhansanseong Fortress and Everland, while the Yongin to Cheonan section should be constructed by detouring as far east of Anseong as possible and connecting feeder routes to Sejong City (Administrative Capital). He suggested these measures to address the route.

He further argued that new expressway networks need to be constructed to circulate around recent new city-scale residential developments such as Dongbaek in Yongin, Dongtan in Hwaseong, Unjeong in Paju, Okjeong and Hoecheon in Yangju, and Yangchon in Gimpo, which are located 40-50km away from Seoul's downtown area.

As the optimal route for the Second Outer Ring Expressway, Professor Lee proposed sections from Gimpo to Bongdam (western section), Bongdam to Gongji-am (southern section), Gongji-am to Hwado (eastern section), and Hwado to Paju to Gimpo (northern section).

The construction of the Second Gyeongbu line and Second Outer Ring line is expected to cost over 20 trillion won, and Professor Lee argued that a private investment project format led by the central government throughout the entire section would be desirable.

Meanwhile, Professor Seo Sun-deok of Hanyang University, who also delivered a keynote address that day, stated, "As the transportation share of private automobiles increases, traffic congestion and environmental problems have emerged," adding "these issues should be resolved through eco-friendly and highly reliable metropolitan railways."

Professor Seo pointed out that Korea's railway commuting share stands at 30.7%, which is far insufficient compared to the Tokyo metropolitan area at 91.6%, the London area at 74.6%, and the Paris area at 68.4%.