Heavy traffic on Taiwan's freeway system is forecast from Wednesday next week to Sunday during the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday, although the holiday officially starts tomorrow, the Freeway Bureau said today.
Traffic conditions appeared smooth this evening, except on select sections including those in northern parts of the freeway system with the average car speed below 40kph, as the prolonged holiday has led many drivers not to leave as soon as they finished their last work day before the holiday, the bureau said.
Photo: Wu Chun-feng, Taipei Times
Traffic is expected to stay light for the four days before Wednesday, the first day of the Year of the Snake, with many in the country likely to kick off their travel plans on that day, the bureau added.
According to the bureau, southbound traffic is expected to be heaviest from Wednesday to Friday, with the volume set to hit a peak of 71 million vehicles per kilometer (mvk) on Friday on the western section of the road network, about 150 percent higher than on a normal day.
Northbound traffic is expected to be heaviest from Friday to Sunday, with a peak likely to be seen on Saturday, with traffic volume on the western section estimated at 76mvk, about 160 percent higher than on a normal day, the bureau said.
As for both southbound and northbound freeways in the west, the peak is expected on Friday with traffic estimated at 139mvk, about 150 percent higher than on a normal day, the bureau added.
On Freeway No. 5, peak traffic on the southbound section is expected on Wednesday, while the peak on the northbound section is set for Sunday, the last day of the holiday, the bureau said.
The bureau has announced traffic controls from Wednesday to Sunday, including entrance ramp closures planned for 5am to noon from Wednesday to Friday to control traffic volume through traffic signals, while the ramp closures will be in place from 10am to 6pm from Friday to Sunday.
The bureau has also imposed high-occupancy vehicle controls from 1pm to 6pm on Friday and Saturday for ramps on the northbound section between Siaying District (下營) in Tainan and Miaoli County's Toufen Township (頭份) on Freeway No. 1, and for ramps on the northbound section between Guantian District (官田) in Tainan and Jhunan Township (竹南) in Miaoli on Freeway No. 3.
The controls have been also imposed on ramps in Suao (蘇澳), Luodong (羅東), Yilan and Toucheng (頭城) on the northbound section of Freeway No. 5 from 1pm to 6pm from Thursday to Sunday.
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