The Jungang Expressway is an expressway in South Korea. Its name literally means "Central Expressway," and for much of its length it runs through mountainous terrain near the country's east-west center line, including the national parks of Chiaksan and Sobaeksan. It covers a total distance of roughly 388.1 kilometers. The southern end is in Sasang-gu, Busan, although for much of the distance between Busan and Daegu it runs together with the Gyeongbu Expressway. Its northern end is in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province. The expressway was completed in December 2001. There is also a short branch named Jungang Expressway Branch near the southern end. This is numbered 551. Chuncheon ~ Cheorwon section is on the drawing boards.
December 15, 1994 : Geumho JCT ~ Chilgok, S.Wonju ~ Manjong JCT section opened the traffic.
August 29, 1995 : Chilgok ~ W.Andong, S.Jecheon ~ S.Wonju, Hongcheon~Chuncheon Section opened the traffic.
July 1, 1999 : Gangseo Nakdongganggyo opened the traffic.
September 16, 1999 : W.Andong ~ Yeongju section opened the traffic.
June 1, 2000 : Chilgok ~ W.Andong, Yeongju ~ Punggi, Jecheon ~ S.Wonju, Hongcheon ~ Chuncheon opened the traffic.
February 12, 2001 : construction began on the Daegu-Busan Expressway segment
August 17, 2001 : Manjong JCT ~ Hongcheon opened the traffic.
December 14, 2001 : Punggi ~ Jecheon opened the traffic.
January 2005 : East Daegu Junction ~ East Daegu IC Section opened the traffic.
January 15, 2006 : East Daegu JCT ~ Daedong JCT section opened the traffic.
Information
Lanes
Samnak IC ~ Chojeong IC, Daedong JC ~ E.Daegu JC, Geumho JC ~ Chuncheon IC : 4 Lanes
Chojeong IC ~ Daedong JC : 6 Lanes
E.Daegu JC ~ Geumho JC : 8 Lanes
Lengths
Total: 388.10 km
Speed limit
Samnak IC ~ Daedong JC, E.Daegu JC ~ Chuncheon IC : 100 km/h
Daedong IC ~ E.Daegu JC: 110 km/h
Daegu–Busan Expressway
The Daegu–Busan Expressway is a segment of the Jungang Expressway which runs north from Daegu to Busan. Officially, it is part of the Jungang Expressway, but some maps use this name for this section. The estimated travel time between the two cities is roughly 1 hour, saving about half an hour over the previous travel time on the Gyeongbu Expressway. The toll for a passenger car is 8,500 won, slightly less than the cost of a KTX ticket between the two cities. Construction was completed in February 2006, at a total cost of slightly over 1 trillion won. The project was overseen by Hyundai Development Company, also known as I-Park, which has promoted the project under the name "I-Way." It was heavily supported by loans from the Korean Road Infrastructure Fundoperated byAustralia'sMacquarie Bank. The term of the financing is 30 years. It has 4 lanes over a length of 82.05 km with a speed limit of 100 km/h.
