Yeongdong Expressway
Template: Infobox trunk road / Maintenance / KR -E
Do ( province):
- Incheon
- Gyeonggi-do
- Gangwon -do
The Expressway 50 also known as Yeongdong Expressway ( Kor. 영동 고속도로, Yeongdong Gosok Doro ) is an expressway in South Korea. The highway is an east -west route through the north of the country, from the western coastal city of Incheon, south of Seoul to Gangneung on the east coast after. It is the northernmost coast to coast highway from South Korea. The highway is 234 km long.
Street Description
Metropolitan Seoul
The highway begins on the east side of Incheon, a city with 2.6 million inhabitants west of Seoul. The highway begins at an intersection with the 110 Expressway, one of the three highways between Incheon and Seoul. The Expressway 50 runs in the first parts of the south and has 2x3 lanes. The highway then turns east and runs along the north of the city of Ansan. On the east side of Ansan a junction with the expressway 15, the westernmost north-south highway of the country that runs from Seoul to Gunsan. The highway runs through a mountainous area south of Gunpo along, a suburb of Seoul. Directly south is Suwon, a city with 1.1 million inhabitants. East of the highway Suwon has 2x4 lanes and it crosses the Expressway 1, the main highway of the country, which extends south from Seoul to Busan. East of this node, the highway has 2x3 lanes again and through the suburbs of Seoul. According to the suburbs, the highway is narrowed to 2x2 lanes.
In eastern South Korea
Further east, the route leads through a flatter area and runs along the regional city of Icheon (not to be confused with Incheon ), it is then the Expressway 35 crosses the north-south route from Seoul to Daejeon. Less than 15 kilometers east it crosses a fourth North - South Expressway, the Expressway 45 The highway leads south from here Yeonju along and crosses two major rivers. Further east, the area is sparsely populated and there are few cities. Outside the city Wonju crossing the Expressway 55, the only north-south highway east of Seoul which leads to the north. The highway then passes to Daegu in the south to Chuncheon in the north. This part of South Korea is very mountainous and the Expressway 50 follows a fairly wide valley with very steep mountains in both directions. The highway passes through mountains with a height of 200 to 600 meters. The highway passes over relatively unpopulated and higher ground. The Expressway 50 terminates in Gangneung at a large junction with the Expressway 65, the easternmost north-south highway in the country.
History
The Expressway 50 is one of the first major highway projects in South Korea. Construction began on March 3, 1971 on 104 km between Singal and Saemal, east of Seoul. At the intersection of Expressway Singal 1 was connected. On 1 December the same year opened the entire stretch of 104 km, including 104 km built in just nine months, typical of the construction speed at this time. On March 26, 1974 97 km of Saemal went to Gangneung on the east coast in construction. This section was completed by eighteen months of construction on 24 October 1975. These sections were largely single track. Between 1991 and 1999, this road was on 2x2 tracks, including a large number of second tubes through tunnels extended. In some places completely new tunnels were built.
In 2010 and 2011 a part of the route in the region Seoul was extended to 2x3, 2x4 and 2x5 lanes.
Opening the data highway
Traffic
The volume of traffic is very high in the urban areas, with up to 170,000 vehicles per day. Further east is the volume of traffic much lower and only at about 20,000 to 50,000 vehicles per day.