Gangwon Province makes all-out push to get Pocheon–Cheorwon Expressway through preliminary feasibility study

【Financial News, Cheorwon = Kim Ki-seop】Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province has gone directly to the state-run research institute responsible for preliminary feasibility studies for highway construction to make its case for easing congestion on the Pocheon–Cheorwon stretch, where a trip that takes 30 minutes on weekdays can take more than 90 minutes on weekends.
Gangwon Province said on the 21st that Economic Vice Governor Shin Won-cheol had visited the Korea Development Institute’s Public and Private Infrastructure Investment Management Center that day to explain the need for the Pocheon–Cheorwon Expressway project and ask for it to be actively considered during the preliminary feasibility study. The aim was to ensure the study fully reflects the poor transport conditions in border areas, growing tourism and transportation demand, the project’s effects on the regional economy, and its policy significance for balanced national development.
The Pocheon–Cheorwon Expressway project will connect 24 km from Pocheon City in Gyeonggi Province to Cheorwon County in Gangwon Province, with a total cost of 1.3305 trillion won. It was included in the second Highway Construction Plan in 2022 and selected for a preliminary feasibility study last April. The province emphasized that the road is more than a local route: it is a key transport link that will ensure continuity along North-South Axis 4 of the national trunk road network, connect the capital region with northern Gangwon, and improve access to border areas.
Traffic on National Route 43, which connects Pocheon and Cheorwon, has risen by about 68% in eight years, from 18,747 vehicles a day in 2017 to 31,450 last year. The Shinbuk Interchange–Cheorwon stretch can be traveled within 30 minutes on weekdays, but congestion is worsening on weekends as tourist traffic builds up, with trips taking at least 90 minutes. The province expects that building the expressway will distribute traffic from the national highway and shorten travel times between the capital region and Cheorwon, easing inconvenience for residents and improving access for tourists.
The province cited the changes in Pocheon since the Guri–Pocheon Expressway opened in 2017. Improved accessibility has helped revitalize industrial complexes and improve conditions for attracting businesses, and the average occupancy rate at the five industrial complexes in the Pocheon area is currently around 77%. The Jangja and Geumhyeon industrial complexes are fully occupied. With development prospects for border areas growing, and Pocheon and Cheorwon among the candidate sites selected for a Peace Economic Special Zone, the province expects that connecting the expressway will strengthen industrial and logistics competitiveness and lend impetus to establishing the zone and promoting ecotourism in the Demilitarized Zone.
Gangwon Province Economic Vice Governor Shin Won-cheol said, “This road is essential to ease the difficulties faced by residents and tourists who are stuck on national highways for more than 90 minutes every weekend, and to bring to Cheorwon the changes the Guri–Pocheon Expressway has brought to Pocheon’s industrial complexes. We will work closely with the relevant agencies to ensure that the circumstances unique to border areas, including the Peace Economic Special Zone and ecotourism in the Demilitarized Zone, as well as growing tourism demand, are fully reflected in the preliminary feasibility study.”

[email protected] Kim Ki-seop Reporter