By KHT Staff
PINGTUNG — Construction of the first section of a long-awaited expressway linking northern Pingtung with Kaohsiung and Zuoying HSR Station is scheduled to begin Sept. 28.
The NT$98 billion Kaohsiung-Pingtung Second East-West Expressway, commonly called the Kaohsiung-Pingtung Second Expressway (高屏二快), will run 22.6 kilometers from the intersection of Taiwan Provincial Highway 1 and Gaotie Road (高鐵路) in Zuoying (左營) to National Freeway 3 in Jiuru (九如).
The first contract, known as C1, covers only 880 meters in Jiuru’s Yushui area (玉水地區). A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for Sept. 28, according to United Daily News, with the section expected to be completed in 2029. The full expressway, divided into seven construction contracts, is scheduled for completion in 2033.
The C1 section will cost about NT$3.5 billion. It includes a four-lane elevated bridge crossing Taiwan Provincial Highway 3 (台3線), westbound entrance and eastbound exit ramps, surface roads, and pedestrian and bicycle facilities. The route is designed for speeds of up to 90 kilometers per hour.
Although construction is beginning from the Pingtung end, the short C1 section will not by itself provide a direct route to Kaohsiung. Its importance is that it marks the first physical work on the larger project after years of planning, environmental review and route changes.
More than 20 kilometers of the expressway will be elevated, helping explain the project’s high cost. The complete route will include three freeway-system interchanges and five local interchanges, connecting with National Freeways 1, 3 and 10, the future National Freeway 7, and several major provincial and city roads.
The government developed the route to relieve pressure on Taiwan Provincial Highway 1 and Expressway 88, which are the main east-west links between Kaohsiung and Pingtung and regularly become congested during peak periods.
The Public Construction Commission estimates that the completed expressway will reduce travel time between Changzhi (長治) and Zuoying from about 50 minutes to 30 minutes. Jiuru Township Mayor Lan Tsung-hsin (藍聰信) has offered a more optimistic local estimate of about 20 minutes between Jiuru and Zuoying HSR Station.
The road is also intended to connect industrial and technology areas across the Kaohsiung-Pingtung region, including the Kaohsiung S Corridor and Pingtung’s science and agricultural technology parks.
