An underpass will be built near the airport to reduce congestion. Construction is slated for completion by the end of next year. Mike Balfour has more.

The intersection near the airport is always packed with vehicles including rental cars and buses.

The traffic here is the heaviest on the island.

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Average time to clear intersection: 10.5 minutes

The average time spent waiting to get through the intersection is 630 seconds.

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Overpass ‘would be ineffective’

To disperse the traffic, an overpass linking the airport access road and the airport had been reviewed, but experts concluded that an overpass is not that effective and hard to design.

Instead, an underpass stretching from east to west will be constructed to improve traffic flow.

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Transport ministry approves underpass construction plan

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport approved the underpass construction plan at the end of last year.


The underpass will be on the planned bypass linking the airport and the five-day market.

The underpass will have four-lanes and stretch to 700 meters at the access road to (다호) Daho village.

Cars hoping to access the airport from the underpass will have to detour to the (용문) Yongmoon Intersection. This will disperse traffic.


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‘Time to clear intersection would fall below 1 minute’

After the underpass is completed, the average time spent clearing the airport intersection is expected to be reduced to 47 seconds. That’s a tenth of the current average time.

INTERVIEW
Hyeon Jong-bae / Jeju City representative
The traffic dispersion strategy, along with a new traffic light control system, will reduce delays near the airport.
<인터뷰:현종배/제주시 도시정비팀장>
"교통량 분산으로 교통 체증이 해소될 것이고 신호체계가 바뀌어서 대기시간이 짧아져 교통 체증이 감소될 것입니다.

[Reporter] Mike Balfour
[Camera] Park Byeong-june
[CG] So Gi-hoon

The underpass construction will begin on June this year after wrapping up compensation for land expropriation and working design. It will be be completed at the end of next year.

Mike Balfour, KCTV