Naju-Gwangju
Expressway Opens to Traffic

KEC completes the expressway between Muan International Airport and Gwangju

A 10.95 km-long section of expressway linking Naju and Gwangju has been opened to traffic recently, completing the project to construct an expressway between Muan International Airport and Gwangju.
Korea Express Corporation (KEC) held a ceremony to celebrate the official opening of the Naju-Gwangju section,part of the 41.3 km-long Muan-Gwangju Expressway, on May 28.
Initially, the Muan-Naju section was opened to traffic last November to coincide with the opening of Muan International Airport. The project to construct the Muan-Naju portion,
begun in December 2002 cost 610.7 billion won.
The completion of the Naju-Gwangju section will reduce travel distance and time between Muan International Airport and Gwanju by 19.35 km and a half hour compared to the national road network. It will cut down on logistics costs by 145.5 billion won per year.
However, the opening of the Seogwangsan Intersection will not happen until the first half of 2009 due to a delay of the construction of approach roads to National Road No.49 and the Pyeongdong Industrial Complex, KEC officials said.
In the meantime, a measure to exempt toll charges for vehicles carrying passengers from Muan International Airport has been lifted effective May 29, 2008.
In a related development, the KEC has been accelerating its efforts to get the nation's expressway network fitted with more intelligent transportation systems (ITS) such as electronic signboards on expressway routes, vehicle detectors and speed measurement instruments.
Acting KEC President Paik Suyk-bong said, "Currently, there is approximately 3,000 km of the expressway network fitted with such ITS infrastructure as the auto-toll system Hi-Pass, CCTVs and advanced electronic signboards."About 1.16 million vehicles equipped with the Hi-Pass system pass on the one-lane Hi-Pass route of each tollgate, which takes four seconds instead of 16 seconds via other conventional routes,
he said.
Yoo Sang-ha, chief of the Construction Management Division at the KEC, said, "The Nexcon System has been in place to check the progress of expressway construction sites in real time to prevent accidents and manage construction. The construction site of the projected Shinseong Tunnel of the third Seocheon-Gongju section, part of the Daejeon-Dangjin Expressway, is an exemplary case for the use of the Nexcon System, developed by the KEC, in which such things as wind can be detected via the remote control system." nw

Shown above is a section of the Naju-Gwangju Expressway that opened to traffic on May 28.

Korea Express Corp. CEO Lieu Chull-ho