Reversible lanes should be installed in the Hsuehshan Tunnel (雪山隧道) to alleviate traffic congestion over the Lunar New Year holiday, Yilan County Councilor Tsai Wen-yi (蔡文益) said on Tuesday.
The Directorate-General of Highways said that implementing lane changes within the tunnel is feasible, but detailed plans would require professional consultation and the results would not be available before June.
Tsai’s suggestion was one of many options put forward by local leaders, with Yilan County Commissioner Lin Tsung-hsien (林聰賢) also suggesting reversible lanes, while Yilan County Council Speaker Chen Wen-chang (陳文昌) proposed levying a tax on those entering the county through the tunnel.
The Hsuehshan Tunnel, opened in 2006, has four lanes, with two lanes each for north and southbound traffic, Tsai said.
Tsai suggested adding a reversible lane during the holiday, adding that experts said such a measure could relieve traffic congestion by between 30 percent and 50 percent.
However, Toucheng Township (頭城) Mayor Tsao Chien-shun (曹乾舜) said a reversible lane would be a safety concern.
The mayor said that the best solution would be to expedite the construction of the expressway between Shihcheng (石城) and Fulong (福隆), which would serve to divert traffic from the freeway.
The potential safety risks could be mitigated by thorough planning, Tsai said.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀) said that the Directorate-General of Highways should establish a task force to study the reasons for the frequent traffic congestion in Hsuehshan Tunnel over the holiday and propose solutions, adding that the Ministry of Transportation and Communications should seek to expedite the Taipei-Yilan railway project.
That project refers to a Taiwan Railways Administration plan to tunnel from Taipei’s Nangang District (南港) to Yilan County’s Toucheng Township, cutting the length of a rail journey from 95.9km to 53km.
The Directorate-General of Highways Toucheng Public Works Section said limited space in the tunnel and the high volume of traffic meant that congestion was inevitable, despite control measures, such as bus-only lanes and only admitting high-occupancy vehicles.
The viability of implementing reversible lanes is expected to be low, while allowing overtaking would be more acceptable, the section said.
All options have been forwarded to experts for risk assessment and the Directorate-General of Highways expects to receive the results by June, the section said.
No changes would be implemented before the Lunar New Year holiday, it said.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
Taiwan is doing everything it can to prevent a military conflict with China, including building up asymmetric defense capabilities and fortifying public resilience, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said in a recent interview. “Everything we are doing is to prevent a conflict from happening, whether it is 2027 or before that or beyond that,” Hsiao told American podcaster Shawn Ryan of the Shawn Ryan Show. She was referring to a timeline cited by several US military and intelligence officials, who said Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had instructed the Chinese People’s Liberation Army to be ready to take military action against Taiwan
RSS