Traffic congestion occurred on several national freeways yesterday, the second day of the Lunar New Year, when married daughters traditionally return to visit their parents’ home.
Slow-moving southbound traffic occurred at the interchanges on the Sun Yat-sen Freeway (Freeway No. 1) from Taoyuan’s Yangmei District (楊梅) to Hsinchu, and from Changhua to Yuanlin (員林), the Freeway Bureau said.
Sluggish northbound traffic occurred on various sections along the freeway near the Taichung interchange, from the Hsinchu to Hukou (湖口) interchanges and from the Yuanshan (圓山) to Sijhih (汐止) interchanges, it said.
Photo: Liu Hsiao-hsin, Taipei Times
High traffic volume also occurred on southbound system interchanges along the Formosa Freeway (Freeway No. 3) from Tucheng (土城) to Longtan (龍潭), from Ciedong (茄苳) to Siangshan (香山) and from the Wufong (霧峰) system to Nantou Service Station, as well as on the northbound section from Jhushan (竹山) to Nantou Service Station.
The section between the Toucheng (頭城) and Pinglin (坪林) interchanges on the Chiang Wei-shui Memorial Freeway (Freeway No. 5) also experienced heavy northbound traffic.
Long traffic backups in parts were due to the rainy weather, with several traffic accidents along the freeways.
Two vehicles collided at 7:08am on a southbound lane along Freeway No. 3 near the 67.7k mark, causing a backup of 4km, while two vehicles collided on a northbound lane near the 90.8k mark on the freeway at 9:59am, causing a 4km traffic buildup.
Two vehicles collided at 9:33am on a northbound lane on the Sun Yat-sen Freeway at the 171.2k mark, causing a backup of 4km, while another accident near the northbound 346.4k mark led to a 11km-long congestion.
Meanwhile, traffic peaked along an improved section of the Suhua Highway at 5pm and remained congested until after 9pm.
A high vehicle occupancy scheme was implemented along the Chiang Wei-shui Memorial Freeway.
The bureau urged people to use the four long-distance and seven short-distance alternative routes.
People are advised to take Provincial Highway No. 61 instead of the Sun Yat-sen Freeway and the Formosa Freeway; Provincial Highway No. 9 instead of the Chiang Wei-shui Memorial Freeway; and Provincial Highway No. 6 instead of the Shuishalian Freeway (Freeway No. 6), the bureau said.
Short-distance drivers are advised to use county roads instead of national freeways, it said.
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