Osan City to Open Section of Western Bypass Road from Gajang Intersection to Chopyeong Intersection on the 31st

[Suwon Ilbo=Park Chan-hyuk Reporter] Osan City will open the section of the Western Bypass Road from Gajang Intersection to Chopyeong Intersection (Banan-ro, heading toward Pyeongtaek) at 10 a.m. on the 31st.

Prior to reopening, the city conducted emergency safety inspections to ensure the safety of road facilities and decided to open the road after completing repairs on sections requiring maintenance.

Traffic through the Geumam Intersection to Chopyeong Intersection section of the Western Bypass Road has been completely restricted, causing severe traffic congestion centered around nearby intersections, and complaints about citizen inconvenience have been continuously raised.

The city anticipates that the opening of the Gajang Intersection to Chopyeong Intersection section will help alleviate traffic congestion at major intersections, and particularly expects that traffic flow around Sumogyeongwon-ro, a key road in the Sekyeong 2 District residential development area, will be noticeably improved.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Central Facilities Accident Investigation Committee mentioned the need for additional investigation into the Western Bypass Road collapse accident and extended the investigation period to February 20 of next year as a second extension.

Given that significant time is expected until actual restoration work is completed, the city plans to establish a temporary detour connecting road with one lane each in both directions linking the front of Geumam Tunnel to Gajang Industrial Road within the first half of next year as a supplementary measure to resolve traffic inconvenience.

Additionally, the city plans to promptly establish a restoration plan and implement restoration projects as soon as the results of the Ministry's accident investigation are released.

Mayor Yi Gwon-jae stated, "I deeply empathize with citizens' travel inconvenience caused by the prolonged closure," and added, "We will do our best to improve traffic conditions."