The National Freeway Bureau yesterday said that downgrading Freeway No. 5 to an expressway was inappropriate because it was built and maintained using money from the Freeway Construction Fund.
The idea of downgrading the freeway was proposed by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀), who represents Yilan County.
Earlier this month, Minister of Transportation and Communications Yeh Kuang-shih (葉匡時) announced that a “pay-as-you-go” toll system for freeway drivers would be implemented in August or September. Drivers on the north-south freeways would have a 20km toll-free concession, while people driving on the east-west freeways would for now be exempt from paying any tolls, Yeh said, adding that the latter measure would be re-examined after two or three years.
Chen said that freeways No. 1, 3 and 5 are all north-south freeways, but Freeway No. 5 is more like an expressway and cannot be compared with freeways No. 1 and No. 3 in terms of driving speed and road specifications.
He said it was unfair for drivers on Freeway No. 5 to pay the same toll as those on freeways No. 1 and No. 3 when Freeway No. 5 has more than 20km in plain areas.
Chen said the plain section of Freeway No. 5 is the only route connecting the northern and southern areas of Yilan County.
While most counties on the west coast have expressways that serve as alternatives to freeways, Yilan does not, he said.
Chen said the ministry should take into account road users’ convenience when making toll policy.
He said that the county could attract more tourists if Freeway No. 5 was designated an expressway.
In response, the bureau’s chief engineer Wu Mu-fu (吳木富) said that all the freeways are built and designed following the same standards, adding that Freeway No. 5 is the same as sections on freeways No. 1 and No. 3 in terms of road width and the speed limit.
“National freeways are maintained and built using the National Freeway Construction Fund, whose revenue comes from the toll fees collected from all freeway users,” Wu said.
“If a freeway is downgraded to an expressway, the government must reimburse the construction fund for the sum used to build it. The government must also appropriate the budget annually for the maintenance cost of the expressway, which means all the taxpayers, including those who are not using the freeways, must pay for it. That is not fair either,” Wu said.
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
RSS