In an effort to ease traffic around the Yuanshan Tunnel, the Taipei City Government intends to close off Zhongshan Second Bridge starting from Lunar New Year.
It will also commence renovation work on the Xinsheng Overpass in July and complete the New Zhongshan Bridge (
Traffic in the Yuanshan area -- especially in Dazhi (大直) and Shilin (士林) -- is expected to enter a difficult period between Lunar New Year and September 2009, when work on the Xinsheng Overpass will be completed, Taipei City Transportation Department Deputy Commissioner Lin Li-yu (林麗玉) said. She called on residents to avoid driving around the area during that period.
Alternatives
To avoid congestion, drivers are encouraged to use Chengde Rd, Chongqing N Rd and the Taipei Songshan Airport Underpass as alternative routes, she added.
Lee Shu-chuan (李四川), director of the New Construction Department, said the work on the Xinsheng Overpass included tearing down the section that crosses the Keelung River and the north approach to the bridge.
This phase of the project is to be followed by reconstruction and maintenance operations on the overpass.
"Traffic in the Yuanshan area has been a big headache for Taipei and we've tried many ways to address the situation. We are counting on the reconstruction project to solve the problem and ease traffic," Lee said during an inspection tour.
Concerns
While the city government said it was confident in the project's success, Taiwan Solidarity Union Taipei City Councilor Chen Chien-ming (
Lee said that the department will put concrete barriers along the bridge to deal with the safety concerns.
The Zhongshan New Bridge will also cater to scooter drivers, as the bridge will include an exclusive lane for motorcycles, Lee added.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
RSS