On October 29, Daejeon city announced its decision to advance the completion of the tentatively named Bridge of Convergence (or the KAIST Bridge) by June of 2014. The construction of the Bridge is one of Mayor Hong-chul Yum’s campaign promises from last year’s local election.

A 274-meter-long and 25-meter-wide two-way, four-lane road, the Bridge of Convergence will connect KAIST and Seogu Dunsan-Dong, the center of Daejeon. The construction will cost a total of 29.8 billion Korean Won.

Currently, there are only two bridges - Mannyeongyo and Daedeokdaegyo-that cross Gapcheon and lead to the downtown area. As a result, KAIST students who take the subway at Wolpyeong (KAIST) station and researchers commuting from downtown have been experiencing inconveniences for a long time, especially when traveling during rush hours.

Daejeon expected that vitalizing the INNOPOLIS Daedok and establishing the International Science & Business Belt, Sejong special self-governing city, and Lotte Theme Park within Expo Science Park will lead to a rapid traffic increase in the near future, shifting the construction schedule. Last April, they spent 100 million Korean Won in the feasibility study and are in the progress of developing a final working design. The actual construction will begin in upcoming March at the earliest.

The average travel time between two areas will reduce down to a minimum of three to a maximum of ten minutes during commuting hours once the bridge is open for traffic. The traffic volume of local roads is expected to decrease as well – by 15.6% for Hanbatdearo, 9.4% for Daedeokdearo, and 28.1% for Gyeryongro. Economically, relieved traffic congestion will save around 3.8 billion Korean Won every year. The overall project meets the new national vision of the Low Carbon Green Growth policy.

In addition, the city is planning to construct a detour that bypasses Gyeryongro, the most crowded road in the downtown area. All of these road expansion projects are believed to boost local construction businesses.

Seungpyo Yang, Chief of the Road Construction Department, emphasized, “Early construction of the bridge will solve the traffic problem and will lead to pleasant urban life. The Bridge of Convergence will increase the regional exchange and will become the landmark of region.”