Traffic floods Southern Cross-Island Highway after fully reopening

On the first day of its full reopening after 13 years, the Southern Cross-Island Highway saw heavy traffic that caused congestion at entrances to the highway as well as a tunnel located at the highway's highest elevation.

Congestion was soon reported at the entrances to the highway after it fully opened on Sunday, with lines at the highway's entrance in Meishan Village in Kaohsiung City extending for as long as five kilometers.

A traffic jam was also recorded in the entrance and exit of the Daguanshan Tunnel, which is located at the highest point of the highway, causing authorities to implement restrictions to regulate traffic.

Chen Cheng-wei (???), an official from the Directorate General of Highways in charge of the construction work on the highway section in Kaohsiung's Jiaxian District, told CNA that the traffic going onto the highway was very heavy.

Chen said that by 2 p.m., a total of 5,836 cars had gone onto the highway which prompted authorities to only allow cars to exit the highway.

Chen added that only about 1,800 cars had entered the highway two years ago when they opened a small section that had been renovated.

The amount of traffic on Sunday was much bigger than that from two years ago, Chen said, imploring tourists to refrain from rushing to the area.

He also added that another reason that contributed to the congestion was cars parked illegally at scenic locations.

Chen went on to say that while drivers generally behaved in an orderly manner, authorities nonetheless observed a spike in the amount of trash found along the highway, calling for tourists to be responsible and clean up after themselves.

As it is known to be one of Taiwan's most scenic freeways, motorists had either camped at the entrances to the highway on Saturday or made reservations at lodgings like the Chief Spa Hotel located along the highway so that they could be the first to experience the highway in its full glory since 2009.

The owner of the hotel told CNA that this weekend was the first time in 13 years that rooms at her hotel had sold out.

Residents around the area said that they had been disturbed by the noise pollution caused by the motorists passing through their community.

The Southern Cross-Island Highway had been rebuilt over the last 13 years since Typhoon Morakot damaged up to 140 km of the road and washed away 22 bridges in 2009, according to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC).

Safety checks on the last section, from Tienchi to Hsiangyang on the border between Kaohsiung City and Taitung County, were completed last month, allowing motorists to travel the full length of the highway which winds its way through the Central Mountain Range.

However, as a precaution, restrictions remain in place for the 20-km Tienchi to Hsiangyang section, which includes the highest point of the road at Yakou (2,722 meters above sea level), according to the MOTC.

The section is closed all-day on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and motorists are required to enter the section between 7 a.m.-2 p.m. on all other days, the ministry said.

In addition, only vehicles under five metric tonnes in weight, passenger vehicles with up to nine people, and motorcycles are allowed access to the section.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

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