Traffic volume today on the nation’s freeways is expected to be at its highest of the three-day New Year’s holiday weekend, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday.
The ministry estimated that travel times would be three to seven times longer than average.
Measures to ease congestion are to be implemented today, including high-occupancy vehicle regulations on the Chiang Wei-shui Memorial Freeway (Freeway No. 5) and closing some entry ramps along freeways, it said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Traffic on the nation’s freeways remained “normal” on the first day of the three-day holiday weekend yesterday, although several freeway sections experienced congestion in the morning, the ministry said.
As of noon, freeway traffic totaled 47.5 million vehicle-kilometers (MVK), up 5 percent from the same period last year, the ministry said.
MVK is a measure of traffic flow determined by multiplying the number of vehicles on a network by the average length of their journeys measured in kilometers.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) yesterday described freeway traffic as “smooth in general,” except for sporadic congestion in Hsinchu and Changhua counties, as well as on Freeway No. 5, which connects Taipei and Yilan County.
Some traffic accidents were also reported yesterday.
A trailer and truck collided at about 1am on a southbound section of the Sun Yat-sen Freeway (Freeway No. 1) near Chiayi County, killing the trailer’s driver and injuring two others, police said.
The trailer spun off the freeway and rolled down an adjacent hill, while the truck was sent into an opposite lane, leading to traffic jams of up to 2km in both directions.
There were also multiple crashes in the morning on the same freeway near Tainan and Kaohsiung, leaving two people slightly injured, police said.
On the coastal highway connecting Hualien and Taitung, a four-car collision occurred in the morning, leaving two people with minor injuries, police said.
Meanwhile, the Central Weather Bureau yesterday said that seasonal northeasterly winds would lower temperatures in northern and northeastern Taiwan throughout the New Year weekend.
Temperatures until tomorrow are expected to range from 13°C to 21°C in northern Taiwan and from 14°C to 20°C in northeastern Taiwan.
The bureau also forecast intermittent rain for those regions during the weekend.
Sunny or cloudy weather is expected in central and southern Taiwan, with large fluctuations between daytime and nighttime temperatures.
Highs in those regions are to reach 23°C to 25°C, with lows of 13°C to 16°C, the bureau said, adding that temperatures in eastern Taiwan are projected to be 16°C to 21°C, with mostly cloudy weather.
Additional reporting by Cheng Wei-chi
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