Highway to make it easier for Seoulites to reach East Sea

A recently completed highway will allow people living in Seoul to reach a popular tourist destination on the East Sea in less than two hours, the transport ministry said Thursday.

It used to take two to three hours to reach Yangyang, 215 kilometers east of the capital city, using existing highways and roads. This, however, has changed, with provincial roads from East Hongcheon to Yangyang being transformed into an expressway, authorities said. A speedway already exists between the capital and the city of Hongchon.

(Yonhap)

The new expressway will be open to the public Friday ahead of the peak summer vacation months.

"Depending on traffic, the trip from Seoul to Yangyang could take as little as 1 1/2 hours," the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement.

The distance between the two cities on the new road is now down to 150.2 km from 175.4 km, with the travel time being cut by an average of 40 minutes, it said.

The government has injected 2.38 trillion won ($2.09 billion) in the past nine years to finish the four-lane highway. (Yonhap)