A NT$49.2 billion (US$1.5 billion) government project to improve the Suhua Highway (Highway No. 9) along the nation’s east coast is expected to be completed by 2019, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said.
The project, aimed at improving road safety and reducing driving times between Yilan County’s Suao (蘇澳) and Hualien County, is divided into three sections: Suao to Dongao (東澳); Nanao (南澳) to Heping (和平); and Hejhong (和中) to Hualien’s Dacingshuei (大清水), according to a statement presented to the legislature about the status of transportation projects in eastern Taiwan
The highway is the main road connecting southern Yilan to Hualien, and its winding, narrow roads overlooking the Pacific Ocean are the scene of frequent accidents and are vulnerable to landslides.
Calls for improvement gained urgency in 2010 after torrential rains from Typhoon Megi triggered lethal landslides that killed 26 people traveling on the road.
Meanwhile, the Taiwan Railways Administration has purchased 136 Puyuma express trains since 2001 to increase passenger capacity along the eastern railway line and plans to purchase 600 intercity passenger cars over the next decade to boost railway capacity, according to the statement.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
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