Authorities are now trying to determine the best ways of linking both Jeju City and Seogwipo with the island’s second airport, which will be built in Seongsan. As Mike Laidman now reports, the top considerations are the projected costs of road construction, and the estimated travel time on the roads.
Report
It has been decided that Jeju's second airport will sit in Seongsan-eup, Seogwipo City.
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Roads being planned to link new airport and cities
The province is planning to construct new roads to link the new airport with Jeju City and Seogwipo City.
Specialists have suggested five different plans to connect it with Jeju City, using the (번영) beonyeong, or mid-mountain roads.
Plans A, B, and C use the beonyeong roads, and those sections which do not overlap with them will be widened to four lanes.
Plans D and E would expand these mid-mountain roads. If either of these plans were to be chosen, people would be able to reach the new airport from Jeju City in an estimated 32 minutes, but construction would require more than 460 billion won.
Specialists have proposed an additional five plans that would link the new airport with Seogwipo City.
The plans include using the (서성) seoseong series of roads.
Plans A and B would expand parts of the seoseong road, which currently has 2 lanes, into 4 lanes.
Plans C, D, and E would make the best use of roads in the mid-mountain region to reach the airport fastest, but construction costs would be higher, as well, with more than 600 billion won on the table.
INTERVIEW
Kim Yeong-beom / Representative, Provincial government
We're now reviewing the expansion of the existing roads that link Seongsan with Seogwipo and Jeju City.
<인터뷰: 김영범/ 道 도시건설과 주무관>
"서귀포에서 성산까지, 성산에서 제주시 시내입구까지 기존 도로를 확장개념으로 검토하고 있는 단계입니다."
As of now, the province’s biggest hurdle is figuring out how to fund the huge construction costs.
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‘National funding needed’ to help pay for \1t project
The highest current estimate gives about 1 trillion won as needed in total, meaning Jeju would have to secure national financial aid to go ahead.
How much potential travelers can rely on the time estimates is another issue, as traffic can change drastically depending on congestion in urban areas.
Meanwhile, the province is working on plans to maintain former national roads, with plans to be finalized in 2025.
The island is asking for public input on the new roads through this week, and plans to make them public in November of 2017.
But before anything is finalized on this costly project, it’s clear that many more discussions will be needed.
Mike Laidman, KCTV