Chuseok return traffic to clear by 11 p.m., Busan-Seoul trip taking 4.5 hours

Traffic on major expressways across the country gradually improved Sunday evening as the stream of holiday returnees thinned out on the last day of the Chuseok holiday. The Korea Expressway Corporation said it expects most congestion on return routes to clear by 11 p.m. at the latest.

According to the Korea Expressway Corporation, the estimated travel time from Busan to the Seoul Tollgate stood at four hours and 30 minutes as of 7 p.m.

The estimated travel time from Ulsan to Seoul was four hours and 10 minutes, from Mokpo three hours and 40 minutes, and from both Gwangju and Daegu three hours and 30 minutes. Trips from Gangneung were expected to take two hours and 40 minutes, while those from Daejeon were estimated at around two hours.

Congestion had not fully cleared, however. On the Gyeongbu Expressway toward Seoul, traffic was moving slowly over an 8-kilometer stretch near Yeongdong and Yeongdong Tunnel No. 1, a 10-kilometer section between the Oksan Hi-pass interchange and the Cheongju rest area, and a 3-kilometer segment between Yangjae and Banpo.

The West Coast Expressway toward Seoul also saw lingering congestion over a 4-kilometer section between the Gunsan rest area and the Dongseo-cheon junction, as well as a 2-kilometer stretch between Songak and the Haengdamdo rest area.

On the Gwangju-Wonju Expressway, traffic was moving slowly in places — including a 10-kilometer section between Dongyang-pyeong and Seo-Wonju in the Wonju direction, and a 4-kilometer stretch between the Gwangju rest area and Dong-Gonjiam in the Gwangju direction.

Conditions improved considerably once vehicles entered central Seoul. The Olympic Expressway was flowing relatively smoothly in both directions.

However, some sections of the Gangbyeon Expressway were still moving slowly, including the stretch from the east entrance of Topyeong IC to Topyeong Junction, and the segment between the north end of Gayang Bridge and the north end of Seongsan Bridge.

The Korea Expressway Corporation projected that as the volume of returning vehicles continued to fall, most highway congestion would clear between 10 and 11 p.m.

Meanwhile, returning travelers also crowded airports on the final day of the holiday. Incheon International Airport Corporation estimated that about 247,000 passengers would use the airport Sunday, counting both arrivals and departures — up 7.9 percent from the single-day peak during last year's Chuseok holiday.