Underground Road Project Connecting Umyeon and Yongsan Gains Momentum to Ease Traffic on Banpo-daero

The Umyeon-Yongsan underground road project, which aims to cross the Han River and connect Seocho-dong in Seocho-gu and Dongbinggo-dong in Yongsan-gu, is set to begin collecting public feedback as it moves toward full-scale implementation.

The underground road will span 5.4 kilometers, connecting 28-2 Banpo-daero in Seocho-gu, near the northern exit of the Umyeon Mountain Tunnel, to 66 Noksapyeong-daero in Yongsan-gu.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced today (July 9) that it will hold a public review of the draft strategic environmental impact assessment for the private investment project until August 5 and host public information sessions on July 23 and 24.

A strategic environmental impact assessment is a procedure that analyzes the potential impact on the natural, living, social, and economic environments before a policy or plan is implemented.

Under the Environmental Impact Assessment Act, heads of administrative agencies planning to establish basic development plans are required to announce and publicly display the draft assessment and hold information sessions to gather opinions from residents.

The public information sessions will be held at 4:00 p.m. on July 23 at the Seobinggo-dong Community Service Center in Yongsan-gu, and on July 24 at the Banpo 2-dong Community Service Center in Seocho-gu.

Residents who wish to provide feedback following the public review and information sessions may submit their opinions until August 12.

The results of the feedback collection and whether those opinions will be incorporated are scheduled to be disclosed in November.

The construction of the Umyeon-Yongsan underground road is being pursued to alleviate traffic congestion on Banpo-daero and improve the existing road structure, where long-distance and short-distance traffic currently mix. The estimated project cost is 782 billion won.

The project involves demolishing the existing Gangnam Terminal overpass, reducing the surface road from 8–10 lanes to 6–8 lanes, and constructing a new 4-lane underground road, effectively increasing the total capacity by 2 lanes.

The city is also considering plans to create parks or green spaces in the surface area that will be opened up following the demolition of the overpass.

The goal is to begin construction of the underground road in 2029 and complete it by 2033.

The improvement work for the upper surface area is planned for 2034–2035, following the opening of the underground road.

Once completed, the Umyeon-Yongsan underground road will join other projects currently underway, such as the Yangjae-Goyang Expressway and the Capital Region Second Ring Expressway, as part of a network of tunnels allowing vehicles to travel beneath the Han River.

(Photo: Captured from the draft strategic environmental impact assessment, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.