▲Among the service commencement reports, opinion on changing the route at the end point. (yunhap news)
Data related to the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway project released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 23rd contained the process from the time the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport first reviewed the change in the end point of the original plan that passed the preliminary feasibility study to the announcement.
The Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway was included in the National Expressway Construction Plan of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in January 2017 and promoted as a national project. It was selected for preliminary examination in 2019, and both sides were the end points until it passed the preliminary examination in April 2021.
The first time the ‘alternative’ was mentioned in the official data of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport released on this day was in the ‘Seoul-Yangpyeong Highway Feasibility Study (Evaluation) Promotion Plan’ written in January of last year during the Moon Jae-in administration.
At the time, the Road Policy Division of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which prepared the document, specified ‘optimal alternative route review’ as the first major task of the feasibility study. It is to determine the optimal route through technical review and rough project cost estimation.
Regarding the background of the feasibility study, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said, “Preliminary is a rough review of the plan to determine whether or not to proceed with the project.
As the first step in the feasibility study promotion process, the survey service ordered by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in January of last year was jointly won by Donghae General Technology Corporation (road analysis) and Kyungdong Engineering (traffic analysis), which are private design companies.
These companies started a feasibility study on March 29 last year, right after the presidential election. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport explains that feasibility studies are not usually conducted during elections due to concerns about political neutrality.
These companies first reported to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport an alternative route that ends in Gangsang-myeon after about two months of field research and literature review. It was concluded that the alternative is economically feasible and environmentally friendly, and the possibility of civil complaints is low. The reporting time was on May 24 of last year, after the inauguration of the Yoon Seok-yeol government.
In July of last year, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport held the first consultation with related organizations such as Yangpyeong-gun and Hanam-si to collect opinions on the route.
At this time, Yangpyeong-gun proposed three routes, including the establishment of Gangha IC. One of these is a route similar to the Gangsang-myeon end point of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport reviewed the junction point (JCT) and the road point based on the opinions sent by related agencies in August and September of last year. In October of last year, an expert advisory was conducted. In November, an interim report of the feasibility study containing the results of the consultation was conducted. In the interim report, the original plan was specified as ‘expected plan’ and the alternative as ‘optimal plan’.
In January, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport held a second consultation with related organizations such as Yangpyeong-gun, Hanam City, the Forest Service, Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), and Korea Electric Power Corporation. He explained that an alternative was prepared after additional discussions such as the timing of February and March.
The alternative routes that have been framed through this process are disclosed to the world in May, with the details of the decision, such as the evaluation items and scope, marked with the preliminary route and the multiple proposals of the ‘alternative route under review’ for the strategic environmental impact assessment.
The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs released a draft of the strategic environmental impact assessment to collect opinions from residents and related administrative agencies last month, and was in the process of public inspection with a deadline of the 19th of this month.
However, all procedures have been suspended due to the declaration of cancellation by Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong on the 6th following the controversy over preferential treatment raised mainly by the opposition party from the end of last month.