There will be a 3-day holiday for Liberation Day next weekend. The High Commissioner: National 5 traffic jam up to 10 kilometers long

Estimated queue length for the southbound route on National Highway 5 on the first day of the holiday. (Provided by the High Public Security Bureau)

The National Liberation Day holiday (October 24-26) is coming soon. The Expressway Bureau of the Ministry of Transport stated today (16th) that the traffic volume on national highways during this holiday is expected to be mainly leisure travel, and the Yihua area is a popular area for international tourism. It is estimated that the southbound traffic volume on National Highway 5 on the first day may be 1.4 times that of normal days, and the northbound traffic volume on holidays is 1.2 times that of normal days.

The High Power Public Security Bureau stated that based on the traffic data of this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival, Teacher’s Day and National Day consecutive holidays, the southbound peak of National Highway 5 during the Liberation Day holiday will fall on the first and second days of the consecutive holidays. Traffic flow will be concentrated between 5 am and 5 pm. During the peak period on the first day of the consecutive holidays, the Nangang system (in the direction of Mucha), the maximum queue length is estimated to be more than 10km.

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The High Power Bureau explained that there are also a large number of early-departure traffic during the period from get off work to late night on the first day of the consecutive holiday; the peak days for the north direction fall on the second and third days of the consecutive holiday, and the traffic begins at 9 a.m. The queue length at the south entrance of the snow tunnel is expected to be up to 6.5km during the peak period on the third day, and the congestion is expected to continue until late at night.

In response to the large and concentrated travel traffic, the High Commissioner said that in addition to implementing stricter ramp instrument control based on traffic conditions, it also plans to close the south entrance ramps of Shiding and Pinglin of National Highway 5 during peak hours, implement sophisticated ramp instrument control from National Highway 3 to National Highway 5, and implement measures such as high-occupancy control at the northbound entrances from Suao to Toucheng. During the closure period, the south entrance of Shiding will be changed to a dedicated entrance for buses.

In addition, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends that the public make more use of public transportation. By implementing priority traffic measures such as national five major passenger bus lanes, open road shoulders, and exemption from ramp instrument control, taking national highway passenger transport to and from Taipei and Yilan during holiday peak hours can save about 30 minutes compared to driving by yourself. If it is the peak period of consecutive holidays, such as southbound on the first day and northbound on closing holidays, more than 60 minutes of precious time can be saved.

Estimated queue length for the northbound route on National Highway 5 on the third consecutive day of holiday. (Provided by the High Public Security Bureau)

The National Liberation Day is a consecutive holiday and the national 5 diversion measures are in place. (Provided by the High Public Security Bureau)