Congestion is building up in various sections of expressways due to vehicles heading out for trips on the morning of today (the 9th), which is Hangeul Day and the first day of a three-day long weekend.

According to the Korea Expressway Corporation, as of 9:00 AM, the estimated travel times from the Seoul Toll Gate to major cities across the country are 7 hours and 40 minutes to Busan, 7 hours and 20 minutes to Ulsan, 6 hours and 40 minutes to Daegu, 6 hours and 20 minutes to Mokpo, 5 hours and 30 minutes to Gwangju, 4 hours and 50 minutes to Gangneung, and 3 hours and 50 minutes to Daejeon.

Conversely, the travel times from each city to Seoul are 5 hours and 50 minutes from Busan, 5 hours and 30 minutes from Ulsan, 4 hours and 50 minutes from Daegu, 3 hours and 50 minutes from Mokpo, 3 hours and 40 minutes from Gwangju, and 2 hours from Daejeon.

On the Gyeongbu Expressway toward Busan, traffic is congested along a 12-kilometer stretch from near the Gyeongbu Dongtan Tunnel to near Namsa, and a 25-kilometer stretch from Bukcheonan to near Cheonan Hodu Rest Area.

Vehicles are also moving slowly on the Seoul-Yangyang Expressway toward Yangyang, including a 17-kilometer stretch from Deokso-Sampae to Seojong, and an 8-kilometer stretch from Dongsan Toll Gate to Dongsan Tunnel No. 1.

On the Seohaean Expressway toward Mokpo, traffic is congested along a 16-kilometer stretch from Maesong to Balan, and an 11-kilometer stretch from Seopyeongtaek Junction to the Seohae Bridge.

The corporation projected that 5.62 million vehicles will be in transit nationwide today.

It is observed that 440,000 vehicles will move from the metropolitan area to provincial regions, and 410,000 vehicles will move from provincial regions to the metropolitan area.

Traffic toward provincial regions began to form between 6:00 AM and 7:00 AM, is expected to be most congested between 10:00 AM and 12:00 PM, and is forecasted to ease between 7:00 PM and 8:00 PM.

For traffic toward Seoul, congestion is expected to start between 9:00 AM and 10:00 AM, peak between 6:00 PM and 7:00 PM, and clear up between 9:00 PM and 10:00 PM, the corporation stated.

Unlike the expressways, major roads within downtown Seoul are flowing smoothly.

According to the Seoul Transport Operation and Information Service (TOPIS), no major congestion has been reported yet on major roads crossing Seoul, such as Olympic-daero, Gangbyeonbuk-ro, and Naebu Expressway, nor on the East and West Inter-City Expressways and Gangnam Circular Expressway.

(Photo: Yonhap News)