According to the Korea Expressway Corporation, an average of 5.26 million vehicles used the highways daily last year. This marks a 13% increase from 2021, with daily toll revenue estimated at 12.1 billion won.
On October 8, Democratic Party lawmaker Hwang Hee analyzed data submitted by the Korea Expressway Corporation, revealing that the total annual traffic volume on highways last year reached 1.91937 billion vehicles, averaging 5.259 million vehicles per day.
The average daily traffic volume rose from 4.652 million vehicles in 2021 to 4.85 million in 2022, 4.986 million in 2023, and 5.12 million in 2024, before reaching 5.259 million last year. During the same period, toll revenue increased from 4.1741 trillion won to 4.4024 trillion won, a rise of 5.5%.
By route, the Gyeongbu Expressway had the highest traffic volume, averaging 1.48685 million vehicles per day last year, surpassing the 897,430 vehicles on the Seoul Ring Expressway and 631,176 vehicles on the Yeongdong Expressway. However, it is important to note that the traffic volume by route counts vehicles multiple times if they use several routes, making direct comparisons with the overall average daily traffic volume difficult.
The Gyeongbu Expressway also accounted for 1.0372 trillion won in toll revenue, representing 23.6% of total highway toll revenue. The busiest segments included the Suwon Singal to Singal JC stretch with 223,975 vehicles, followed by the Namyangju to Anseong JC stretch with 203,463 vehicles, and the Seoul to Singal JC stretch with 199,480 vehicles.
In response to the increased traffic volume, authorities are currently undertaking new highway construction and expansion projects. According to the Korea Expressway Corporation, there are 17 ongoing highway construction projects, totaling 430.6 kilometers. This includes 13 new routes spanning 379.3 kilometers and 4 expansion routes covering 51.3 kilometers, with a total project cost of 33.3342 trillion won.
Accidents have been concentrated on the Gyeongbu Expressway. Among the top 20 segments with the highest accident rates over the past five years, 9 were on the Gyeongbu Expressway. The Cheongju IC to Mokcheon IC upward segment recorded 64 accidents, resulting in 5 fatalities, while the Bukcheonan IC to Anseong IC upward segment had 45 accidents, and the Mokcheon IC to Cheongju IC downward segment had 43 accidents.
Hwang stated, “We need to reassess investment priorities based on demand and risk levels, and ensure that expansion, improvement, and safety measures effectively lead to reduced congestion and fewer accidents.”
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.