20 years of waiting! Provincial Route 76 from Caotun to Fangyuan is open to traffic, saving 20 minutes on the journey

The 20.8-kilometer west extension of Provincial Highway 76 was completed and opened to traffic. (Provided by the Highway Bureau of the Ministry of Transport)

After 20 years of planning and construction, Changhua County's east-west expressway "Provincial Route 76 (Caotun-Fangyuan)" has been completed! Among them, the 4.28-kilometer viaduct section of the 20.8-kilometer west extension section held a completion and opening ceremony today and will be officially opened to traffic at 12 noon tomorrow (8th).

The west extension of Provincial Highway 76 has a total length of 20.8 kilometers. It starts from the Fangyuan Interchange of Provincial Highway 61 in the west and connects the Erlin and Puyan areas in the east. It connects to the existing Provincial Highway 76. It is equivalent to connecting the north-south Provincial Highway 61, National Highway 1 and National Highway 3, connecting the southwest of Changhua area, it is faster to connect to the expressway corridor. The at-grade road section was opened to traffic in sections before. Today, the viaduct section is opened to traffic. The driving time from Caotun end to Fongyuan end was originally about 55 minutes, but now it is shortened to 35 minutes, saving about 20 minutes.

Executive Director Zhuo Rongtai said that the completion of Provincial Highway 76 will not only strengthen the transportation network in the central region, but also directly connect Fangyuan Industrial Zone, Erlin Zhongke Base and the Precision Park in terms of industrial development, shorten transportation time, enhance the core capacity of the Central Precision Smart Park, and make Changhua's role in industrial development even more critical.

Zhuo Rongtai said that Provincial Route 76 also plays a role in disaster relief. Fangyuan and Dacheng are located in the southwest corner of Changhua. In terms of medical transfer, they are conveniently connected to Changji Medical Center, Xiu Chuan, and Yuanlin Christian Hospital, shortening the transfer time for emergency and severe cases. In addition, the project adopts a sponge road design, which combines flood retention and landscape green corridors, and integrates human-oriented environment and bicycle lanes to achieve symbiosis with nature.

County Magistrate Wang Huimei said that the Provincial Line 76 extension project has been long-awaited and will make it more convenient for folks to return home or go out to work. This connection road also mainly opens up the Erlin Precision Park. Once the road is opened, it will be a great boost to the development of Fangyuan Industrial Zone, Erlin Precision Park, and Erlin Zhongke.

The construction process of the extension of Provincial Highway 76 can be traced back to one of the 12 east-west expressways planned in the "National Six-Year Economic Construction Plan" in 1991. After years of planning and promotion, this road section was approved by the then Executive President Lai Ching-te in 2018, and the follow-up extension project was officially launched. The goal is to connect the existing inland road sections. The project lasted about 20 years and overcame local coordination and construction challenges. Now it is finally completed and open to traffic.

The 20.8-kilometer west extension of Provincial Highway 76 was completed and opened to traffic. An opening ceremony was held on the 7th and it was officially opened to traffic at noon on the 8th. (Photo by reporter Yan Hongjun)