New Feasibility Study to Begin for Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway; Route Plan Due in Second Half of Next Year

[Financial News] The government will begin a new feasibility study for the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway project, which was suspended in July 2023. It plans to review the project’s conditions from the ground up, without being bound by the findings of the previous study, and draw up an optimal route plan by the second half of next year.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said on the 3rd that it would conduct a new feasibility study to resume the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway project and hold a kickoff briefing with a public-private consultative body on the 4th.
The Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway is a new 27-km, four-lane highway project linking Hanam City and Yangpyeong County in Gyeonggi Province. The government confirmed its policy to resume the project in March this year, citing the need to expand the transport corridor in the northeastern Seoul metropolitan area and advance a long-awaited local project. It subsequently ended the existing study contract, commissioned a new study in June and signed the contract in August.
The study, to be conducted by a specialist road agency, will thoroughly review relevant materials and the project’s conditions. It will comprehensively analyze future traffic demand, technical feasibility, economic benefits, and environmental and social impacts.
A consultative body involving private-sector experts and local governments will also be set up to enhance the fairness and objectivity of the study. It will comprise road, transport and environmental experts recommended by specialist organizations, including the Korean Society of Road Engineers, and relevant officials from Seoul City, Gyeonggi Province, Songpa District, Hanam City, Gwangju City and Yangpyeong County.
The consultative body will share updates at each major stage of the study and present technical opinions and local requests. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to review these during the study and maintain ongoing consultations on key discussion points and progress.
At the kickoff briefing on the 4th, participants will review the results of the basic data survey, technical issues concerning the route proposed in the previous preliminary feasibility study, and plans for the upcoming study.
Kim Hyo-jeong, director of the Road Bureau, said, “Given the various controversies raised during the project’s development, we will conduct a fair and objective study and draw up a rational route plan that the public can trust. We will carry out the feasibility study without a hitch and move quickly through the subsequent procedures to minimize inconvenience to the public caused by delays to the project.”
[email protected] Choi Ga-young Reporter