Daily Busan
New expressway significantly reduces travel times between Mandeok and Centum
On Feb. 10, the Mandeok-Centum Urban Expressway, Busan's first deep underground urban expressway, officially opened to the public.
Stretching 9.62 km with four lanes, this deep-level tunnel reaches depths of 60 to 120 meters, connecting Mandeok-dong in Buk-gu District to Centum City along the Suyeonggang-byeon-daero in Haeundae-gu District. By bypassing surface traffic entirely, this new infrastructure forms a vital transport axis, marking a significant turning point in the shift toward an advanced underground traffic system.
Designed to provide a fast and safe link between eastern and western Busan, the expressway is expected to drastically ease chronic congestion on Mandeok-daero and alleviate bottlenecks on major arterial roads like Chungnyeol-daero and Suyeonggang-byeon-daero, transforming traffic flow across the city.
The impact on travel time is significant. Previously, travelling this route at an average speed of 18.2 kph took roughly 42 minutes. The new expressway boosts that speed to 61.7 kph, slashing travel time to just under 12 minutes. Even the journey from Gimhae International Airport to Haeundae, which used to take an hour, is now expected to be cut in half.
Tolls vary by time of day. During peak commuting hours (7 a.m. to noon, 4 to 9 p.m.), the toll for passenger cars travelling from Mandeok IC to Centum IC is 2,500 won. Between midnight and 5 a.m., the toll is 1,100 won; all other hours it is 1,600 won. Tolls are automatically collected via Hi-Pass, registration on the Mandeok-Centum Expressway homepage, or manually via the website or customer call center.
<Today's Vocabulary - 오늘의 단어>
underground: 지하 expressway: 도시 고속화 도로 drastically: 대폭 alleviate: 완화하다
Editor: Song Soomi
Copy Editors: Ryu Hyoseung, Anton J. Mapoy