- 4.5km section between Gajwa IC and Seoincheon IC (four-lane highway) moving underground at a total cost of KRW 504.1 billion -

- City to complete master plan this year and break ground next year -

Incheon Metropolitan City (Mayor: Yoo Jeong-bok) is bringing the section between Gongdan Overpass and Seoincheon IC along Incheon-daero underground to alleviate traffic congestion. The City announced on June 9 that the proposal had passed the central government’s investment assessment led by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

Expected to cost KRW 504.1 billion (central government and city funding), the project will transform the old Gyeongin Expressway (Gajwa IC ~ Seoincheon IC) into a four-lane underpass (total length: 4.5km).

<Site of the Incheon-daero undergrounding project>

The City explained that after passing the preliminary feasibility study by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance in December of last year, it requested an investment assessment from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety in accordance with the Local Finance Act. Officials cited serious traffic congestion, among other issues, to plead their case for the undergrounding project.

Now that the project has passed the central government’s investment assessment, Incheon will pull every resource available to commission a master plan for the project within the year, and break ground next year. The target completion date for the new underpass has been set to 2027.

Lee Won-joo, Director of the Incheon-daero Regeneration Division, said, “Since we have passed the central government’s investment assessment done by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, we now want to do our best to prepare for the actual construction of the underpass and push it forward as quickly as we can.”