By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff Reporter
From 2017, Seoulites will be able to drive on underground roads free of traffic jams, but the safety of the 60-meter-deep roadways is being called into question.
The city announced a plan Wednesday to construct 149 kilometers of roads crossing the city, some 40-60 meters below the ground, to ease traffic congestion.
"There are several underground streets abroad, but most of them are individually planned or made of existing subterranean roads. However, Seoul will plan the use of its underground in a systematic way," said Kim Sang-bum at the city transportation headquarters.
There will be six underground highways - three north-to-south and three east-to-west. The roads will form a lattice pattern and the intersections will be connected to form two circular roads.
The roads will be located some 40-60 meters underground, much deeper than current subway lines, which are 10-20 meters below the surface. Five tunnels will be split into two 3-meter levels - one for each direction - and will be meant for smaller cars, while the third north-to-south route will have a single-story tunnel for bigger vehicles.
The city will also build large subterranean parking lots at major downtown points and high-speed elevators will connect the underground roads to the surface. Once the underground roads are completed, Seoul drivers are expected to be able to drive through the city in 30 minutes.
"We expected to convert 21 percent of ground traffic to underground and the average surface road speed will be increased to 32.6 kilometers per hour from the current 24.2 kilometers per hour," a city official said.
According to the city, it will take 13 minutes from Yangjae-dong in southern part of the city to downtown if the underground roads are used, compared to the current 39 minutes.
Since this is the first attempt to build such a large network of underground streets, experts showed concern about ventilation and safety. Some question whether there might be difficulties in escaping in case of fire or other accidents from a tunnel 50 meters underground.
"We will have emergency shelters and exits every 250 meters and we will chart disaster-prevention plans to maintain traffic safety. In the case of fire, drivers can escape to other floors of the tunnel or the surface," a city official said. "Moreover, ventilator openings will purify exhaust gas and it will contribute to cleaner air."
The city expects to spend 11.2 trillion won to build the six underground roads.
It said it would attract private capital to finance the project. The north-to-south route 3, a substitute for the Dongbu Expressway, will be constructed with a city budget and will be toll-free.
"The private roads might be toll roads, but we don't have any idea how much tolls will be because this is a master plan and we haven't done specific research," the official said.
Design for the third route will begin next year with completion of the city's first city-crossing underground road slated for 2017. Builders of the north-to-south routes 1 and 2 and east-to-west routes 1 and 2 will be picked in 2012 for completion in 2019 or later. The longest one, the east-to-west route 3 is a long-term plan.