With notable post-election haste, the national roads authority has announced its upgrade plans for the controversial Suhua Highway, which connects Yilan and Hualien counties.
The road, part of Highway 9 that connects the east coast to Taipei in the north and Pingtung in the south, is a perennial bone of contention for Hualien businesses and entrepreneurs, who want a freeway built to promote development in the relatively unspoiled county and points south, and for transport policymakers, who must regularly close and restore sections of the road after earthquakes, typhoons or even just heavy rain.
In recent years there appeared to be some momentum to replace or supplement the Suhua Highway with an extension of Freeway No. 5, which presently terminates in Suao Township (蘇澳), Yilan County. The new freeway section, which would eventually extend to Taimali Township (太麻里) in Taitung County, is planned and ready to go; all that prevents it is the hesitancy of the environmental impact authority, which has conceded the likelihood of significant environmental damage, and the central government’s hesitancy to commit to the massive budget outlay that construction would require.
Hualien County Commissioner Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁), whose re-election a few weeks ago is shrouded in infamy even by Hualien’s standards, has been a strong supporter of the freeway project, and little wonder: Opening the east coast to the levels of traffic that the west coast is accustomed to would be a boon for politicians, local developers, financiers and landowners — as well as a grave threat to the ecology up and down the coast and the rift valley connecting Hualien to Taitung.
Now that Fu has fallen out with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) central government over his wildcard race for the county commissionership, the enthusiasm of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications for this punishingly expensive undertaking seems to have suddenly waned. It is as if top Cabinet officials, mindful of the delicate economic recovery now under way — and perhaps even acknowledging the largely ignored lessons of Typhoon Morakot — had been looking for a political circuit-breaker to scale down the commitment to grandiose east coast infrastructure.
Instead, the highway upgrade appears to be a sensible compromise given that spending on the east coast road corridor must be maintained, one way or another. Most welcome is the news that disused railway tunnels will be upgraded in places to accommodate two lanes of traffic. Rarely has the concept of recycling had such a happy corollary in road construction.
So, finally, after years of fighting over the fate of the freeway, the government has made a sensible decision to improve existing infrastructure. And while there remains a suspicion that the approved project will open the door to future freeway incursion, the fact is that a smoother, safer and faster ride between Hualien and Yilan will provide a sustainable and responsible increase in demand for tourism and investment, while easing demands for an unrealistic road network that no one can afford — least of all those clamoring for it the loudest.
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