Conservationists question need for new Tamsui River overpass

Environmentalists blasted the Ministry of Transportations and Communications' National Freeway Bureau (公路局) yesterday over a proposal for the Tamsui River Expressway, calling it a "big mistake" because it ignores possible damage to the coastal ecological system at the mouth of the Tamsui River.

At an environmental impact assessment (EIA) meeting held by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday, officials from Tamsui Township office said that they hoped to see the passage of the EIA because construction had been expected by many local residents for several years.

However, conservationists said that the proposed construction would be a "killer" for the 65.3 hectares of coastal mangroves along the proposed route

"Highway pillars, which are to be sunk into wetlands along the river, would damage the environment for coastal mangroves that form a natural barrier to erosion of the riverbanks," said Chang Chien-lung (張建隆), spokesman for the Action Network for Rescuing the Tamsui River (搶救淡水河行動聯盟), a group composed of 96 environmental groups from around Taiwan.

"In addition, according to a report by an EPA official, these pillars, built on sandy soil, will damage the base of the Tamsui Line (淡水線) of Taipei's Mass Rapid Transit System (MRT)," Chang said.

Showing a petition letter signed by about 3,000 people opposed to the proposed construction, activists said that the construction was redundant because it would be parallel to the Tamsui Line (淡水線), indicating it would have a limited effect on solving existing traffic problems along the way.

Representatives for the National Freeway Bureau admitted at the meeting that the coastal environment would be changed but "the effect on mangroves was expected to be limited."

Environmentalists said the proposed construction would go against the government's pledge to preserve bio-diversity.

"The national report on biological diversity in Taiwan will come up in May, but now we see a proposal for construction that will damage the coastal environment," said Lin Sheng-chung (林聖崇), an activist from Taiwan Greenpeace.

Bureau representatives have said the proposed highway is the only option available to handle the growing flow of traffic.

"We don't think alternatives to the project, such as broadening the Tamsui section of Taiwan's Number 2 Route (台二線) would be realistic to solve traffic problems," said a bureau representative.

EPA officials said that the EIA needed to be carefully reviewed because opposition to the project was getting louder.