Occasional traffic jams and some accidents were reported yesterday as Taiwanese took advantage of sunny skies to hit the road.
In the afternoon, an overturned car on Freeway No. 2’s eastbound airport interchange connecting Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport caused traffic to back up, the National Freeway Bureau said.
Freeway No. 2 goes from the airport in the west to the Yingge (鶯歌) interchange in the east, which connects Freeway No. 3. Traffic on the 20.4km Freeway No. 2 is often congested during rush hour on weekdays, as well as during national holidays.
A three-way car crash on Freeway No. 10 near the Renwu (仁武) interchange, which was already packed with cars prior to the accident, made traffic even worse at that section.
Traffic also clogged parts of Freeway No. 3, including the interchanges at Guanmiao (關廟) and Yuanli (苑裡), where accidents affected traffic flow.
Traffic was also slow on Freeway No. 1 on sections near Greater Taichung to the Changhua (彰化) and Puyan (埔鹽) system interchange, with drivers forced to slow down to between 30kph and 40kph.
Today, the second day of the Lunar New Year, is the day when married daughters traditionally return to their parents’ home.
The bureau said heavy traffic was expected on both southbound and northbound lanes of the freeways and that total traffic volume on all freeways was expected to reach between 2.2 million and 2.8 million vehicles.
The bureau said tomorrow and Sunday would see the heaviest traffic of the holidays, with as many as 3 million vehicles estimated to use the freeways.
Meanwhile, the Central Weather Bureau said sunny weather was expected to continue until Monday. A mixture of sunny and partly cloudy skies is forecast across the nation, except for the northeastern regions and mountainous areas in the north, which are expected to see rain and cloudy skies.
Highs in the north are expected to reach 25oC today, and mid-to-high 20oCs in central and southern regions, the bureau said.
Nonetheless, the bureau advised people to take a jacket when going out, as mornings and late evenings can still get chilly.
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