Although the Changchun Shrine (長春祠) in Taroko National Park would not reopen until 2029, it is definitely “worth the wait,” Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday during a trip to check restoration progress since a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck the area on April 3, 2024.
While several trails and many areas of the road in Taroko National Park have been reopened since the quake, some sites that were more heavily damaged, including the shrine, could still take years to restore.
The earthquake seriously damaged the eastern section of Provincial Highway No. 8 within Taroko Gorge, with 13 different areas blocked due to the initial disaster, Highway Bureau Director-General Lin Fu-shan (林福山) said.
Photo: Hua Meng-ching, Taipei Times
Since the quake loosened rock and soil, nine typhoons and heavy rains over the past two years have caused further damage, affecting a total of 28 different areas of the road, Lin said.
As of the end of last year, 23 of these sites had been restored while five remain under construction, including four tunnels that would be repaired by July 2028, he said.
Sites that have already been reopened include the visitor’s center, Taroko Terrace (太魯閣台地) Trail, Tiansiang (天祥) Recreational Area, Dacingshui (大清水) Recreation Area, Chongde (崇德) Trail, Dali-Datong (大禮大同) Trail, and the Liwushan (立霧山) and Cianyanlishan (千里眼山) Hiking Trails, Taroko National Park Headquarters Director Liu Shou-li (劉守禮) said.
The Buluowan (布洛灣) Terrace and Tunnel of Nine Turns (九曲洞) would be reopened later this year, Liu said.
Repairs to the Changchun Shrine Trail were complicated due to the risk of rockfalls, which require additional insurance, he said.
A contract with the National Land Management Agency to restore the area could be tendered this year, but the construction period would take 28 months, so it would not open until 2029 at the earliest, Liu said.
The Shakadang (砂卡礑) Trail, Swallow Grotto (燕子口) Trail and Baiyang (白楊) Trail would not be repaired until 2031, he added.
Cho visited Changchun Shrine yesterday along with park officials to pay their respects to pioneers and soldiers who helped build the road.
Restoration is not meant to fight against nature, but find harmony and prosperity with it, using the latest technology for disaster prevention and reconstruction, Cho said.
Cho thanked the Dali and Datong indigenous communities for helping restore the trails and wished the NT$3 billion (US$94.66 million) allocated for the restoration be put to good use.
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