Northbound traffic on Taiwan's major highways is expected to peak this afternoon, the final day of the Tomb Sweeping holiday, with severe congestion already reported on parts of the east coast route.
As of 11am, traffic on western national freeways remained mostly smooth, with only sporadic congestion and speeds generally above 40kph.
Photo: Wu Chun-feng, Taipei Times
However, heavy traffic had built up on National Freeway No. 5, which connects Yilan County with the Taipei area.
The northbound Yilan-Toucheng (頭城) section was experiencing severe congestion, with speeds below 20kph — classified as "purple," indicating near-gridlock conditions.
The Freeway Bureau said congestion on Freeway No. 5 could persist until after 10pm, while traffic on western freeways is expected to increase from about 2pm and ease after 9pm.
Total traffic volume yesterday reached 112.4 million vehicle-kilometers, about 1.2 times the average weekday level.
Traffic early this morning also exceeded typical levels, and total volume for the day is projected to reach 111 million vehicle-kilometers.
Key congestion hotspots are expected on the northbound Yilan-Pinglin (坪林) section of Freeway No. 5 and parts of western freeways.
Traffic control measures include ramp closures on sections of Freeways No. 1 and No. 3 from noon to 9pm, and high-occupancy vehicle restrictions on northbound entrances to Freeway No. 5 between 1pm and 6pm.
Heavy return traffic is also expected on provincial highways, particularly near freeway interchanges.
Likely bottlenecks include sections of Provincial Highways No. 65, 64, 74, 86 and 88 near freeway interchanges.
Major intercity routes such as Provincial Highway No. 61 in Hsinchu and Changhua County, the Suhua Highway and South-Link Highway along the east coast, and sections of Provincial Highway No. 1 in Pingtung County are also expected to see congestion.
Traffic is also likely to build up near popular tourist destinations, including coastal routes in Wanli (萬里) and the Tamsui (淡水) area in northern Taiwan.
Real-time traffic information is available here.
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