The National Freeway Bureau said that an estimated 2.74 million cars hit the nation’s freeways yesterday, almost twice as many vehicles as the 1.5 million average on a normal weekday, while traffic volume during the toll-free period yesterday was 370,000 vehicles, much higher than the 150,000 normally seen on national holidays.
The bureau said earlier in the day that certain sections of the nation’s road network — from Linkou (林口) to Pingjhen (平鎮), Yangmei (楊梅) to Hsinchu (新竹) and Taichung to Changhua on the Sun Yat-sen Freeway (Freeway No. 1), as well as the sections from Tucheng (土城) to Longtan (龍潭), and Kuaiguan (快官) to Wufeng (霧峰) on the Formosa Freeway (Freeway No. 3) were jam-packed yesterday before noon.CONGESTION
Traffic congestion worstened yesterday afternoon, with vehicles moving at an average speed of 20kph from Taichung to Changhua on Freeway No. 1, while the average speed from Changhua to Wufeng on Freeway No. 3 was less than 40kph, an official said.
The bureau advised motorists to take the Sun Yat-sen Freeway for trips between Taipei and Taichung, and the No. 3 Freeway for longer journeys between the north and south.
Motorists on shorter trips should avoid freeways altogether and take local roads, the bureau said.
Several measures will be implemented today to maintain smooth back-to-work traffic. Toll-free periods will be between midnight and 7am and from 7pm to midnight, while vehicles will be banned from using the Toucheng interchange between noon and 7pm. Northbound ramps in Puyen (埔鹽) and Pingjhen (平鎮) on Freeway No. 1, and Longtan (龍潭) on Freeway No. 3, will be closed all day today.
VOLUME CONTROLS
Northbound and southbound exits of the Wangtien (王田) interchange on Freeway No. 1 and Mingjian (名間) on Freeway No. 3 will be subject to volume controls.
The bureau said the restrictions at Toucheng may be lifted depending on traffic flow.
Meanwhile, the Taiwan Railway Administration said yesterday that tickets are still available for today for south-bound trains on the eastern and western lines, and Southern Link line trains, as well as for north-bound trains on the eastern and western line. Tickets are also available on South Link line trains for tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday.
In related news, two Taiwanese tourists were injured in a car accident on Tuesday in China’s Yunnan Province, Straits Exchange Foundation Deputy Chairman Kao Koong-lian (高孔廉) said yesterday.
The accident happened when a tour bus carrying 25 Taiwanese tourists collided with a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction and hit a tree, Kao said.
HOSPITAL
Liu Shiang-ling’s (劉湘玲) right arm was injured in the accident and was still in hospital, while another tourist Cheng Li-ling (鄭麗玲) suffered a fractured little finger, Kao said.
Kao said the SEF had contacted its Chinese counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, on Tuesday night and would offer the tourists any help they need.
After the accident, eight of the group continued on their journey, while the other 17, who were members of a single family, stayed with the injured passengers, Kao said.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
RSS