Traffic congestion continued across highways on the afternoon of Chuseok (September 25) as people traveled to and from their hometowns.

According to the Korea Expressway Corporation, as of 2:00 p.m., the estimated travel times from Seoul Tollgate to major cities nationwide were 7 hours 20 minutes to Busan, 6 hours to Mokpo, 7 hours 20 minutes to Ulsan, 6 hours 40 minutes to Daegu, 5 hours 40 minutes to Gwangju, 4 hours 20 minutes to Gangneung, and 3 hours 50 minutes to Daejeon.

Conversely, the estimated travel times from each city to Seoul were 8 hours 10 minutes from Busan, 7 hours 10 minutes from Mokpo, 7 hours 50 minutes from Ulsan, 7 hours 10 minutes from Daegu, 6 hours 40 minutes from Gwangju, 4 hours 10 minutes from Gangneung, and 4 hours 30 minutes from Daejeon.

Compared to the morning, the estimated travel time for outbound trips to hometowns decreased by up to an hour, while inbound trips to Seoul increased.

On the Gyeongbu Expressway toward Seoul, traffic was congested along sections including an 18km stretch from near Bukcheonan to near Anseong Service Area and a 10km stretch from Dallaenae to Banpo.

Toward Busan, congestion occurred on sections including a 10km stretch from Hoedeok Junction to Biryong Junction and an 18km stretch from near Manghyang Service Area to near Cheonan Hodu Service Area.

Vehicles were also moving slowly on the Seoul-Yangyang Expressway toward Yangyang, including a 14km section from near Deokso Sampae to near Seojong, and toward Seoul, including a 12km section from near Seojong to near Hwado. Other congested areas included a 21km section of the Gwangju-Daegu Expressway toward Gwangju from near Nongong Service Area to near Haeinsa Temple, and a 10km section of the Gwangju-Wonju Expressway toward Wonju from Dongyangpyeong to Seowonju.

On the Seohaean Expressway toward Seoul, traffic moved slowly around Dangjin to Poseong Junction (1km) and from near Pyeongtaek Junction to Hwaseong Service Area (12km).

Major roads within downtown Seoul also experienced congestion.

On the Olympic-daero inbound route, congestion continued from the southern end of Dongho Bridge to the southern end of Banghwa Bridge, while the outbound route experienced heavy traffic on sections including from the southern end of Haengju Bridge to the southern end of Banghwa Bridge, and from the southern end of Yanghwa Bridge to Yeouido Sangryu IC.

On Gangbyeonbuk-ro inbound, traffic was congested or moving slowly on sections such as from the eastern entrance of Totpyeong IC to Totpyeong Intersection, and from the northern end of Jamsil Bridge to the northern end of Gayang Bridge.

Outbound traffic was crawling on sections from the northern end of Gayang Bridge to the northern end of Yanghwa Bridge, from the northern end of Seogang Bridge to the northern end of Hangang Bridge, and from Totpyeong Intersection to the eastern entrance of Totpyeong IC.

The corporation projected that traffic congestion heading toward hometowns would peak around 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. today and ease around 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Traffic heading toward Seoul is expected to be most congested between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., and clear up around 2:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. tomorrow (September 26).

Total vehicle traffic nationwide for the day was projected at approximately 6.84 million vehicles.

The corporation estimated that 470,000 vehicles would move from the capital area to provincial regions, and 460,000 vehicles from provincial regions to the capital area.

(Photo: Yonhap News)