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Pre-Feasibility Study on the Expansion of
National Highway No. 5, and the Seocheon-Boryong section of National Highway No.
23. Among the three sections, two sections were paralleled with expressways under construction. The Naju-Donggang section is considered the shortest connection between Naju city and Mokpo city.
Especially this study reviewed the projects being carried out by higher rank plans and discussed the attitudes of local government officials and residents toward the project.
The suitability and the availability of national budgeting are evaluated to make up for short project funds. The items of analysis were evaluated by using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to estimate the impacts to be created when the roads are expanded and when they remain as they are now. The 3 road sections are scheduled to be expanded from 2002 to 2008.
The Naju-Donggang section on National Highway No. 23 is the shortest connection between such cities as Gwangju, Naju and Mokpo. As Jeonnam Province has a plan to construct a new town and a new Province Hall in the Namak area near Mokpo city, the construction of this section is proposed to support the new town. It is estimated that the traffic volume would be increased between Gwangju and Mokpo after the relocation of Jeonnam Province Hall.
The traffic volume in the current two-laned road is about 3,000 vehicles per day. The geometric structure of the current road is not so good that it needs to be improved. The analysis of economic feasibility revealed that the Benefit-Cost ratio of the expansion of this section is 0.75, The comprehensive analysis using the AHP also indicates that the expansion of this route is not urgent. The determinant factors of this project are the relocation of Jeonnam Province Hall, the construction of a new town in the Namak area, and the expansion of local connections with the central government support.
However unexpectedly, the relocation of Jeonnam Province Hall faced the opposition of residents and is expected to be cancelled. As a result, the new town plan is also in pending. It is recommended that it would be better to carry out the reevaluation of this project when its surrounding circumstances are clear such as the expansion project of Route No. 49 in connection to this road, the approval of the housing lot development in the new town-planned area, and the relocation of Jeonnam Province Hall.
The town-lane Danyang-Daegang section on National Highway No. 5 is a bottleneck section and when it is expanded, it is expected that traffic conditions will be improved.
As this road connects to the major tour sites in the Danyang region, this project is expected to contribute to attracting tourists and promoting the region as a tourists attraction.
The study revealed that the traffic volume on this section would be reduced with the opening of expressway in parallel with this section to connect Jecheon to Poonggi at the end of 2001, which transfers traffic from the national highway to the expressway. It was estimated that the traffic volume on this section would remain the same y 2012. The B/C ratio of this project is 0.74, which indicates that it does not require urgency.
However, it is expected that tourists would increase as the expressway opened and thus the traffic volume on this section would also increase. This study interviewed residents to estimate a SP (Stated Preference) model by making virtual situations as if the current road were congested or the toll charge for the expressway were expensive. The model demonstrated that most drivers would behaved normally. It is recommended that the expansion of this road depends on the travelling demand after the opening of the expressway between Jecheon and Poonggi.
The Seocheon-Boryong section on National Highway No. 21 is also a bottleneck section and so it seems to need an expansion in the near future. However, the B/C ratio of this project is 0.54. This section is paralleled with the Seohaean (western seaside) expressway under construction which is to be opened at the end of 2001. The determinant factor in this is how much traffic volume will transfer from the current national highway to the Seohaean expressway.
According to the statistical yearbook on the road sections paralleled with the expressway, about 47.1% of traffic in the Balan-Bibong section, 48% in the Bibong-Banwol section transferred to the expressway and thereby the traffic volume on the national highway section became reduced. It is estimated that 25%∼30% of traffic volume on this road section would transfer to the expressway. The transfer rate is estimated to be below the level of the above mentioned section. This study also interviewed residents to develop a SP model by making virtual situations as if the
current road were congested or the toll charge for the expressway were expensive. The model demonstrated that most respondents behaved normally. It is recommended that the expansion of this section should be decided according to the travel demand and the transfer rate after the opening of the Seohae-an Expressway.
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