The Directorate-General of Highways (DGH) said yesterday that it would take at least three to five years before it could decide whether to open the section of the Central Cross-Island Highway between Guguan (谷關) and Deji (德基) to non-residents.
The section was severely damaged by the 921 Earthquake in 1999. While the DGH spent about NT$2 billion (US$67.7 million) repairing the road and it was scheduled to reopen it on July 15, 2004, it was destroyed again when Typhoon Mindulle struck on July 2 the same year.
DGH Deputy Director Chao Hsin-hua (趙興華) said the construction of a makeshift road connecting Guguan and Deji is scheduled to be completed by the end of next month.
However, the road will only be open to residents of Fongyuan (豐原), Shigang (石岡), Dongshih (東勢), Shinshe (新社) and Heping (和平) districts, as well as those holding work permits in the Greater Lishan (梨山) area.
Chang Ming-chin (張明欽), chief of the DGH’s Taichung Branch Second Maintenance Office, said a comprehensive assessment needed to be conducted before the office could decide if non-residents should be allowed to access the road.
“The Council of Economic Planning and Development approved the makeshift road project on the grounds that the road is designed to offer emergency assistance to local residents,” Chang said. “The makeshift road still needs to undergo the tests of a plum rain season and a typhoon season.”
In the meantime, a consulting firm will assess the safety of the road section, with results expected to be delivered in July next year, Chang said.
Even if the DGH decides to open the highway to all motorists, Chao said a plan to repair the highway must first be approved by council and evaluated by the members of an Environmental Impact Assessment Committee, and that the latter take one to two years.
The Guguan-Deji makeshift road is about 23km, with construction costs estimated at NT$440 million.
To enhance the safety of the road, the DGH has built seven steel-structure tunnels along the route. The DGH has planted vegetation on slopes next to the road to prevent landslides. Nevertheless, heaps of fallen rocks can still be seen along the route.
DGH records show that landslides occurred on different sections of the makeshift road 99 times in 2010 and 92 times last year.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
RSS