5.24 Million Vehicles Expected on Roads on Final Day of Holiday... Peak at 3 PM

[Anchor]

Traffic congestion is expected today, September 27, the final day of the Chuseok holiday, due to vehicles returning to the Seoul metropolitan area. Traffic is expected to back up starting from the morning, and we will connect with our reporter stationed at the Seoul Tollgate on the Gyeongbu Expressway to get more details.

Reporter Im Jihyeon, what is the current traffic situation?

[Reporter]

While some sections are experiencing slight slowdowns, traffic flow across major highways nationwide remains relatively smooth due to the early hour.

Congestion is expected to begin in earnest starting around 10:00 AM, particularly on routes heading toward Seoul.

The Korea Expressway Corporation forecasts that traffic heading toward Seoul will be at its heaviest around 3:00 PM.

As of 7:00 AM, traveling from Busan to the Seoul Tollgate takes 4 hours and 30 minutes.

The journey takes 3 hours and 25 minutes from Gwangju, 2 hours and 40 minutes from Gangneung, 4 hours and 8 minutes from Mokpo, and 4 hours and 10 minutes from Ulsan.

Let us look at the CCTV footage for major highway sections.

First is the Cheonan section on the Gyeongbu Expressway.

Although the number of vehicles returning to Seoul is gradually increasing, congestion has not yet begun.

Next is the situation around the Seopyeongtaek Junction on the Seohaean Expressway.

There is a slightly larger volume of vehicles heading up toward Seoul compared to the direction of Mokpo.

This is the Wonju Junction section on the Yeongdong Expressway.

Traffic is flowing smoothly in both directions toward Gangneung and Incheon.

The Korea Expressway Corporation projected total traffic volume for the day at approximately 5.24 million vehicles, which is lower than yesterday.

With 370,000 vehicles moving from the metropolitan area to regional areas and 490,000 vehicles moving from regional areas to the metropolitan area, congestion is expected to be concentrated on routes heading back to Seoul.

Traffic heading toward Seoul is expected to reach its peak congestion between 3:00 PM and 4:00 PM, before easing around 11:00 PM.

Routes heading away from Seoul are expected to remain relatively smooth throughout the day.

The highway toll exemption for this holiday will remain in effect until today.

(Live reporting by Seo Jin-ho | Video editing by Shin Se-eun)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.