The Directorate-General of Highways (DGH) said yesterday that it would take at least three to five years before it could decide whether to open the section of the Central Cross-Island Highway between Guguan (谷關) and Deji (德基) to non-residents.
The section was severely damaged by the 921 Earthquake in 1999. While the DGH spent about NT$2 billion (US$67.7 million) repairing the road and it was scheduled to reopen it on July 15, 2004, it was destroyed again when Typhoon Mindulle struck on July 2 the same year.
DGH Deputy Director Chao Hsin-hua (趙興華) said the construction of a makeshift road connecting Guguan and Deji is scheduled to be completed by the end of next month.
However, the road will only be open to residents of Fongyuan (豐原), Shigang (石岡), Dongshih (東勢), Shinshe (新社) and Heping (和平) districts, as well as those holding work permits in the Greater Lishan (梨山) area.
Chang Ming-chin (張明欽), chief of the DGH’s Taichung Branch Second Maintenance Office, said a comprehensive assessment needed to be conducted before the office could decide if non-residents should be allowed to access the road.
“The Council of Economic Planning and Development approved the makeshift road project on the grounds that the road is designed to offer emergency assistance to local residents,” Chang said. “The makeshift road still needs to undergo the tests of a plum rain season and a typhoon season.”
In the meantime, a consulting firm will assess the safety of the road section, with results expected to be delivered in July next year, Chang said.
Even if the DGH decides to open the highway to all motorists, Chao said a plan to repair the highway must first be approved by council and evaluated by the members of an Environmental Impact Assessment Committee, and that the latter take one to two years.
The Guguan-Deji makeshift road is about 23km, with construction costs estimated at NT$440 million.
To enhance the safety of the road, the DGH has built seven steel-structure tunnels along the route. The DGH has planted vegetation on slopes next to the road to prevent landslides. Nevertheless, heaps of fallen rocks can still be seen along the route.
DGH records show that landslides occurred on different sections of the makeshift road 99 times in 2010 and 92 times last year.
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