Daegu secures W54b for Sanghwa-ro underground road project

Daegu city has added 17.2 billion won ($12.6 million) from its second supplementary budget to the Sanghwa-ro grade-separation project, bringing total secured funding to 54 billion won and accelerating work to ease chronic traffic congestion in Dalseo-gu.

The additional budget allocation will provide a stable fiscal foundation to continue key construction work, including ongoing tunnel excavation, and to carry out follow-on phases without delay, the city said Thursday.

The Sanghwa-ro grade-separation project involves building a four-lane underground road spanning approximately 4.1 kilometers from Wolgok intersection in Dowon-dong to Yucheon intersection in Yucheon-dong, Dalseo-gu — a stretch long plagued by severe traffic congestion.

The project was incorporated into the Third Metropolitan Area Traffic Congestion Road Improvement Plan (2016–2020).

Total project costs stand at 399.7 billion won, including 202.1 billion won ($149 million) in national government funding, with completion targeted for 2028.

Tunnel excavation is currently the focus of major construction activity. Once the relocation of underground utilities near the Wolgok intersection endpoint is completed by year's end, full-scale bidirectional tunnel excavation from both ends of the route is set to begin.

"Securing a steady stream of funding is critical for large-scale infrastructure projects, and the additional 17.2 billion won from this supplementary budget, along with national funding secured for next year, has given real momentum to the Sanghwa-ro grade-separation project," said Heo Ju-yeong, director of Daegu's transportation bureau.