Spring Festival Traffic Surge! National Highway Closures, Toll Discounts, and High-Occupancy Vehicle Controls Explained
The 115th Spring Festival holiday will last for 9 days from January 25 (2 days before the New Year's Eve) to February 2 (the fifth day of the first lunar month). The Highway Administration (hereinafter referred to as the Highway Administration) estimates that the demand for returning home and tourism will be Cause traffic congestion and formulate traffic diversion measures.The National Highway Administration estimated that the southbound traffic will be concentrated from the first to the third day of the Lunar New Year, with the highest volume reaching 71 million vehicle kilometers (mvk) on the second day, about 1.5 times that of normal days. The northbound traffic will be concentrated from the third to the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, and the fourth day will be the peak day. The maximum volume reached 76mvk, about 1.6 times that of normal days; the two-way traffic reached 139mvk on the third day of the Lunar New Year, about 1.5 times that of normal days.Traffic control and diversion measures★Ramp closure:From January 29 (the first day of the Chinese New Year) to January 31 (the third day of the Chinese New Year), 2015, the southbound entrances of National Highway 1 Pingzhen System, Pushan System, and National Highway 5 Shiding and Pinglin will be closed from 5:00 to 12:00 every day. During the period when the southbound entrance of Shiding is closed, it will be changed into a special entrance for large buses.From January 31 (the third day of the Chinese New Year) to February 2 (the fifth day of the Chinese New Year), 2015, the northbound entrances of National Highway 1, Rende and Huwei, and the two-way entrances of National Highway 1, Wangtian, will be closed from 10:00 to 18:00 every day; from 12:00 to 24:00, the northbound entrances of National Highway 1, Rende and Huwei, and the two-way entrances National Highway 1 Puyan System and National Highway 3 Xibin North Entrance.★High passenger load controlFrom 13:00 to 18:00 daily on January 31 (the third day of the Chinese New Year) and February 1 (the fourth day of the Chinese New Year), National Highway 1 northbound from Xiaying to Toufen and National Highway 3 northbound from Guantian to Zhunan will be available at all interchanges. The entrance ramp.From January 30 (the second day of the Chinese New Year) to February 2 (the fifth day of the Chinese New Year), 2015, from 13:00 to 18:00 every day, the entrance ramps of the northbound Suao, Luodong, Yilan and Toucheng Interchanges on National Highway 5 (the end time depends on traffic conditions) will be closed. (Flexible adjustment of situation).★Charging measures:Single rate: January 25, 2015 to February 2, 2015.Differentiated toll rates for different road sections: From January 29, 2015 to February 2, 2015, the National Highway 3 section from "Hsinchu System to Yanchao System" will adopt a single toll rate with an additional 20% discount.Suspension of charges: From January 29, 2015 to February 2, 2015, charges will be suspended from 0:00 to 5:00 every day.★Open shoulder:In addition to the existing open shoulder measures being implemented as usual, additional shoulder sections and time periods will be opened every day during the holidays for small vehicles to travel.★Ramp control:During the holidays, ramp instrumentation control will be implemented and adjusted flexibly depending on the traffic conditions of each interchange.★Alternative roads:If you are traveling from Toucheng to Pinglin area on National Highway 5, it is recommended that you take Provincial Highway 9 instead.If you are traveling between Hsinchu and Tainan via National Highway 1 or 3, it is recommended that you take National Highway 61 instead.If you are traveling between Taichung and Nantou, it is recommended that you take National Highway 63 instead.For National Highway 3 traveling between Wufeng and National Highway 1 Taichung System and National Highway 3 Zhonggang System, it is recommended to take National Highway 74 and then National Highway 4.★Suspend construction:From 12:00 on January 24, 2015 to 24:00 on February 2, 2015, construction and routine maintenance work will be suspended along the entire national highway (except for emergency repairs and projects that do not affect main line traffic).Overview of National Highway Traffic Diversion Measures for the 2025 Lunar New Year Holiday (Photo/Source: Ministry of Transportation Website)To avoid congestion, it is recommended to leave earlyThe National Highway Administration warns that there may be overnight congestion from the second to the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, especially on the northbound Hsinchu and Miaoli sections of National Highway 1 and 3 and the northbound Yilan section of National Highway 5. The peak for returning north will be from the third to the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. People are advised to plan their trips early and use public transportation or alternative routes.If you need to drive back north, people in the south are advised to leave before 9 am, and those in the central part are advised to leave before 12 noon to avoid long congestion.Driving information query and reminderThe Highway Bureau urges everyone to download the "Highway 1968 App" before departure to check real-time traffic conditions and control measures, and flexibly adjust driving times and routes to ensure safe and smooth driving.