An easing of the nation’s COVID-19 outbreak might persuade more people to take short-distance road trips during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday next month, creating freeway congestion, the National Freeway Bureau said yesterday.
The festival is on the fifth day of the fifth month on the lunar calendar.
“It generally falls between the end of May and mid-June, but because this year the fourth month of the lunar calendar is a leap month, the festival is later than usual.
Photo courtesy of the Freeway Bureau
The holiday weekend is to run from June 25 to 28.
“Because the festival this year is a four-day holiday and the COVID-19 outbreak has greatly eased, more people might be willing to travel home for the holiday or go on tours with family members,” bureau Deputy Director-General Wu Mu-fu (吳木富) said. “The traffic volume on all freeways during the holiday could reach 1 to 1.2 million vehicle kilometers traveled.”
However, as the Advanced Subjects Test for high-school students was postponed until July 3 to July 5 due to the COVID-19 outbreak, some families might avoid traveling over the holiday, Wu said.
Most freeway traffic would come from short-distance travel and the greatest congestion would likely occur on the first day of the holiday, bureau section chief Tsai Ming-che (蔡明哲) said, adding that the traffic on the first day would be similar to the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday.
All those driving on freeways during the four-day holiday would be charged a toll rate of NT$0.9 per kilometer, while long-distance drivers choosing Formosa Freeway (Freeway No. 3) over National Sun Yat-sen Freeway (Freeway No. 1) would receive an additional 20 percent discount on tolls.
Toll-free hours would be from 12am to 5am between June 25 and June 27, but on the last day of the holiday, they would be from 12am to 10am.
On June 25, the high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) policy would be in place from 7am to 12pm at southbound entrances to interchanges between Neihu (內湖) and Toufen (頭份) on Freeway No. 1, and between Mucha (木柵) and Siangshan (香山) on Freeway No. 3.
From June 25 to June 26, the HOV hours would be in place at southbound entrances to the Nangang (南港), Shiding (石碇) and Pinglin (坪林) interchanges on the Chiang Wei-shui Freeway (Freeway No. 5).
On June 27 and 28, the HOV policy would be in place from 2pm to 9pm at northbound entrances to Suao (蘇澳), Luodong (羅東), Yilan and Toucheng (頭城) interchanges on Freeway No. 5, the bureau said, adding that the HOV hours on Freeway No. 5 during the last two days of the holiday might be adjusted, depending on the traffic.
To limit freeway traffic, southbound entrances to the Pingcheng (平鎮) and Puyen (埔鹽) interchanges on Freeway No. 1 are to be closed on June 25 and 26.
Northbound entrances to the Huwei (虎尾) and Puyen interchanges on Freeway No. 1, as well as the northbound entrance to the Sibin (西濱) Interchange on Freeway No. 3 are to be closed on June 27 and 28.
As part of disease prevention efforts during the holiday, “freeway drivers will be required to wear masks and have their temperatures measured when entering food courts at rest areas. In compliance with the Central Epidemic Command Center’s (CECC) social distancing guidelines for indoor activities, diners will be separated by plastic spacing barriers or will be asked to leave an empty seat between them,” Tsai said, adding that the number of diners would also be capped.
Measures are to be adjusted to match any new instructions from the CECC and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Wu said.
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