Chen credits workers for ahead-of-schedule tunnel

Lauding the progress on the construction of the Hsueshan Tunnel (雪山隧道) -- the longest tunnel of the Beiyi Freeway (北宜高速工路) -- President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday urged the construction team to keep "safety, quality, and progress" as the principles of the freeway project.

"I am glad to see that the construction of Hsueshan Tunnel has been progressing," Chen said yesterday when inspecting the construction of the tunnel in Ilan.

President Chen was accompanied by the minister of Transportation and Communication, Lin Ling-san (林陵三).

From March to September this year, the construction team penetrated nearly 4,900m of the 12.9km-long tunnel. "The length [penetrated] has actually exceeded the schedule by 12 percent. In other words, the [construction] team has managed to penetrate about 100m further than expected," Chen said.

The construction of Beiyi Freeway, connecting Taipei and Ilan, started with the tunnel in July 1991.