By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
If a Seoul resident wants to have "dakgalbi," (spicy chicken barbeque), a specialty of Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, it will now be possible to get an authentic version of the dish in its home city in about 40 minutes after the opening of a new expressway.
The road linking Seoul and Chuncheon was opened at 10 p.m. on Wednesday, with a ceremony held at a tollgate. Prime Minister Han Seung-soo, Transport Minister Chung Jong-hwan, Gangwon Governor Kim Jin-sun and Gyeonggi Governor Kim Moon-soo participated in the event.
The 61.4-kilometer-long road enables drivers to move between the cities in 38 minutes, while it took more than 80 minutes previously on weekdays and sometimes up to three hours on weekends.
Due to the mountainous topography, about 40 percent of the route is connected by bridges or tunnels.
It was built with 2.2 trillion won in private capital combined with state investment. The builders will manage the expressway for 30 years through 2039, before turning it over to the government.
The toll is 5,900 won for passenger cars for the entire route. Residents in Chuncheon and nearby counties will receive a discount of 700 won.
"We planned to open the highway in August but advanced the opening by one month, for the convenience of vacationers to Chuncheon and other destinations in Gangwon. We hope the road will ease traffic congestion between the two regions on weekends," a ministry official said.
By 2014, the expressway will be extended to reach Yangyang on the eastern coast.