Today, the National Development Council approved the “Feasibility Study for the Pingnan Expressway,” with the planned route extending from Zhutian Route 88 Expressway to the northern end of Hengchun Town. Pingtung County Magistrate Chou Chunmi 周春米 stated that they will continue to monitor the progress to ensure the safety and health of the residents of southern Pingtung.
According to a press release from the Pingtung County Government today, as per the plan by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ Highway Bureau, the Pingnan Expressway corridor will extend from Zhutian’s Taiwan Route 88 to Hengchun, running along the eastern side of the Pingtung Plain to Fangliao in the south and then along the mountainous and hilly areas through Fangshan and Checheng to the northern end of Hengchun Town. The expressway will serve townships like Chaozhou, Wanluan, Xinpi, Chunri, Fangliao, Fangshan, Shizi, Checheng, and Hengchun, covering a total length of 65.55 kilometers.
Planned route of Pingnan Expressway
Chou Chunmi mentioned that she has been advocating for the Pingnan Expressway since his tenure as a legislator. Once completed, the expressway will alleviate congestion on the Ping-E Highway during holidays and, most importantly, shorten emergency medical transportation times on the Hengchun Peninsula. It will provide a rapid route for emergency disaster response and medical transport, ensuring better health and safety for the residents of southern Pingtung.
Chou Chunmi further stated that there is progress on all three expressways within the county. Besides the Pingnan Expressway, the extension of National Freeway No. 10 to the Ligang Interchange and the newly constructed Xinwei Bridge began construction on December 12th last year. The second east-west expressway between Kaohsiung and Pingtung is currently in the second phase of its environmental impact assessment, with the Ministry of Transportation soon to submit it for review by the Environmental Protection Administration.
In the future, this will be in line with the extension of the High-Speed Rail to Pingtung and the Kaohsiung MRT to Xinyuan, Donggang, and Linbian. Major transportation projects in Pingtung are gradually taking shape, with continued close monitoring of progress to ensure transportation equity and promote industrial and tourism development.
Regarding the benefits of the Pingnan Expressway, the county government stated that it would connect the western high-speed highways with the eastern region, forming an important piece of the island-wide expressway network. It will also link with National Freeway No. 3 and Taiwan Route 88, accelerating the transport of agricultural products, promoting tourism, and balancing regional development.
Following the approval of its feasibility study, the Highway Bureau will handle comprehensive planning, environmental assessments, land acquisition, and construction processes. The project will collaborate with the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to finalize and start construction as soon as possible.