Construction of the Southern Pingtung Expressway could start within two years, as the project has entered the planning and environmental assessment stages, Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said yesterday.
Chen made the announcement while visiting the Fangshan Township (枋山) railway station in Pingtung County, where he said the roadway could help improve industrial development and healthcare in the region.
The expressway would make medical services more accessible to more areas in the county and reduce driving times during peak hours on holidays or weekends, as it would circumvent about 86 traffic lights along provincial highways No. 1 and No. 26, he said.
Photo: Lo Hsin-chen, Taipei Times
The government has approved NT$280 billion (US$8.7 billion) for the Pingtung County Government to build 65.55km of an eight-lane, two-way expressway, meeting the government’s goal of having adequate infrastructure to enable one-day travel to anywhere in Taiwan.
The Pingtung County Government said it would work closely with the Highway Bureau on land expropriation for the project.
Adequate transportation infrastructure is important for tourism in the area, the Pingtung County Tourism Department said, adding that it would seek to help with the planning and environmental assessment to expedite the project.
Pingtung County Commissioner Chou Chun-mi (周春米) said she had emphasized the importance of the expressway when she was a legislator, citing traffic jams from weekend tourists.
During peak hours, 3,500 vehicles face 15 minutes worth of stoplights passing through the county, she said.
The expressway would connect Pingtung with eastern Taiwan and the West Coast Expressway, which the government hopes would balance regional development, expedite agricultural produce transport and increase tourism.
Once construction begins, the entire project is expected to take six or seven years to complete, the Pingtung County Government said.
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