Freeway travelers should hit the road early today, the second day of the Lunar New Year, traditionally the time for married couples to visit the wife’s parents, the National Freeway Bureau said yesterday.
Today’s freeway traffic volume on the southbound lanes is expected to be the highest this week, potentially 1.6 times higher than weekday traffic, it said.
Congestion on the southbound lanes between Nangang (南港) and Toucheng (頭城) interchanges is expected between 5am and 5pm, while heavy southbound traffic is likely from morning until noon between Yangmei (楊梅) and Toufen (頭份) interchanges on the Sun Yat-sen Freeway (Freeway No. 1), as well as between Jhonghe (中和) and Guansi (關西) interchanges on the Formosa Freeway (Freeway No. 3), the bureau said.
Photo courtesy of the Freeway Bureau
Southbound traffic is also expected to be heavy from 7am to 2pm from Changhua City to Puyan (埔鹽) interchanges, while peak traffic on southbound lanes between Kuaiguan (快官) and Wufong (霧峰) interchanges and between Caotun (草屯) and Mingjian (名間) would be from morning to noon, it said.
In the south, heavy southbound traffic is forecast between 9am and noon between Dawan (大灣) and Lujhu (路竹) interchanges on Freeway No. 1 and Dingjin (鼎金) and Yanchao (燕巢) on Freeway No. 10.
To ease traffic, the bureau is to implement a high-occupancy vehicle policy on northbound lanes of the Chiang Wei-shui (蔣渭水) Memorial Freeway (Freeway No. 5) from 1pm to 6pm at Suao (蘇澳), Luodong (羅東), Yilan (宜蘭) and Toucheng interchanges.
Vehicles cannot enter those lanes without having at least three passengers, the bureau said.
Meanwhile, feeder roads to southbound lanes at Pingjhen (平鎮) and Puyan interchanges on Freeway No. 1 and those to southbound lanes at Shiding (石碇) and Pinglin (坪林) on Freeway No. 5 would be closed from 5am to 12pm.
People traveling from the west coast are advised to leave before 6am or after noon to avoid heavy traffic, while those planning to travel on Freeway No. 5 should leave before 5am or after 5pm, the bureau said.
People driving long distances can take alternate routes, including Highways Nos. 61, 63, 74 and 9, it added.
Meanwhile, the Highway Bureau reminded holiday motorists to check traffic reports before departing, as congestion is expected to start at 8am on key sections of highways, particularly those connecting to freeways.
In addition to people traveling home today, many people are planning to take family trips to temples or other destinations, the Highway Bureau said.
As of 3pm yesterday, freeway traffic volumes had reached 666,000 vehicle kilometers and total traffic volume for the day was set to reach 1.23 million vehicle kilometers.
Approximately 27,000 vehicles passed through southbound lanes of the Hsuehshan Tunnel (雪山隧道) on Freeway No. 5, down 6.8 percent compared with last year.
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