Paju City plans to support 50% of Ilsan Bridge toll fees during rush hour from July next year

Working-level discussions with Gyeonggi-do, Goyang-si, and Gimpo-si... Implementation target for July next year

(Paju = Yonhap News) Reporter Noh Seung-hyuk = Paju City, Gyeonggi Province, announced on the 2nd that it will make Ilsan Bridge toll free during rush hour for city-registered vehicles starting July next year.

To this end, Paju City is conducting working-level discussions with Gyeonggi-do, Goyang-si, and Gimpo-si on ways to support toll fees for Ilsan Bridge during rush hour. The goal is to conclude a business agreement in the second half of this year.

The plan to free tolls during rush hour, which is being discussed this time, is a method in which each city shares and supports the remaining 50% of the toll for vehicles registered in Paju, Goyang, and Gimpo that use Ilsan Bridge between 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. during rush hour and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. during work hours.

The settlement system to classify vehicles registered by city will be established by Gyeonggi Province.

The amount of support for each city is determined based on actual traffic volume. As a result of Gyeonggi Province's review, it was found that Paju City accounts for about 15% of the total traffic volume based on the distribution of Ilsan Bridge users' starting and ending points.

Accordingly, Paju City is expected to cover approximately 7.5% of the remaining 50% of the toll fee, excluding the 50% subsidy from Gyeonggi Province.

In addition, the city plans to make efforts to make Ilsan Bridge completely free.

Gyeonggi Province and three cities continue to request government support to make Ilsan Bridge free. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has also set aside 500 million won for this year's 'Ilsan Bridge toll-free support research' service cost and is currently preparing to promote the service.

Paju Mayor Son Bae-chan said, “It will help reduce the actual cost of living for citizens by easing the burden of tolls during rush hour and contribute to creating more convenient metropolitan travel conditions.”

Ilsan Bridge is the only toll road among bridges built on the Han River.

Gyeonggi Province has invested 20 billion won since January 1 to support 50% of the tolls on Ilsan Bridge.