New Daemo Underpass opens to ease chronic Gangnam traffic gridlock
Summary
Seoul will temporarily open the Daemo Underpass in southern Seoul’s Gangnam area at 11 p.m. Saturday to ease chronic congestion on Yangjae-daero. The 1,174-meter, four-lane road links the Guryong-maeul entrance intersection and the Gaepo 3rd and 4th Complex intersection. With this opening, the city says the underground route connecting five underpasses will be completed and commuting times should improve.
Key Facts
- The Daemo Underpass runs beneath Yangjae-daero in southern Seoul’s Gangnam area and connects the Guryong-maeul entrance intersection with the Gaepo 3rd and 4th Complex intersection.
- Yangjae-daero links the Gangnam Beltway with the Gyeongbu Expressway, and heavy traffic has long caused backups at its main intersections.
- The Guryong underpass opened in September 2014, the Yeomgok-dongseo underpass in December 2019, the Maeheon underpass in late 2020, and the Ilwon underpass has operated since December 1993.
- The city said it will publicize lane and route changes through electronic road signs, banners and navigation apps to reduce driver confusion.
- Vehicles headed toward Yangjae from Yeongdong-daero, Samseong-ro and Seolleung-ro will no longer be able to turn left into the Guryong Tunnel at the Guryong Tunnel intersection and must use marked detours.
The entrance to the newly constructed Daemo Underpass in southern Seoul’s Gangnam District / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government
Seoul will temporarily open the Daemo Underpass, a new underground road built to ease chronic congestion on Yangjae-daero, starting at 11 p.m. Saturday, the city said.
The 1,174-meter, four-lane underpass runs beneath Yangjae-daero between the Guryong-maeul entrance intersection and the Gaepo 3rd and 4th Complex intersection in southern Seoul's Gangnam area, directly linking two existing underpasses, Guryong and Ilwon, along one of the city's busiest sections of road.
Yangjae-daero is a major east-west corridor connecting the Gangnam Beltway, an urban expressway that loops around southern Seoul, with the Gyeongbu Expressway, the country's main north-south highway to Busan. Heavy traffic has long caused backups at its main intersections, prompting the city to build a series of underpasses in stages: The Guryong underpass opened in September 2014, the Yeomgok-dongseo underpass in December 2019 and the Maeheon underpass in late 2020, while the Ilwon underpass has operated since December 1993.
With the Daemo underpass opening, the underground route linking Maeheon, Yeomgok-dongseo, Guryong, Daemo and Ilwon will be complete, which the city expects to significantly cut commuting times along the corridor.
The opening will shift some traffic lanes and routes, and the city said it plans to publicize the changes through electronic road signs, banners and navigation apps to reduce driver confusion. Vehicles headed toward Yangjae from Yeongdong-daero, Samseong-ro and Seolleung-ro, for example, will no longer be able to turn left into the Guryong Tunnel at the Guryong Tunnel intersection and will need to use marked detours.
Construction crews will continue restoring the road surface above the underpass and completing landscaping work after the temporary opening, the city said.
The head of Seoul's Urban Infrastructure Headquarters said the Daemo underpass completes the underground traffic system linking the Guryong and Ilwon underpasses and would help ease congestion on major roads in the Gangnam area.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.
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