Typhoons revive call for Suhua freeway

Despite its breathtaking scenic views of the Pacific Ocean, the 87-kilometer Suao-Hualien Highway, which expanded in the 1980s, has frequently come under merciless onslaughts of typhoons, torrential rains, and earthquakes.

The repeated disruptions in transport service and calls from residents on the east coast prompted the government to propose a new transport artery — the 89-km Suhua freeway — with a budget of NT$93 billion in eight years.

But the project has run into stiff opposition from environmental protection organizations while the residents in eastern Hualien and Yilan counties have escalated their call for building the new freeway.

Following the latest of typhoons last weekend and throughout September, Transportation and Communications Minister Tsai Duei and officials at The National Expressway Engineering Bureau called for an earlier start for the construction work.

They pointed out the repair work for the old highway in recent weeks already cost more than NT$100 million. Much more money will be needed after the latest attack from Typhoon Krosa over the weekend.

The government has been forced to allocate NT$1.5 billion for continuing repair work on the old road.

The officials said a new freeway will not only help promote economic development in eastern Taiwan but, more importantly, will provide greater safety for motorists and passengers.

They said a proposal from Legislator Lu Po-ji of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party to build the freeway in two phases is worth consideration.

Lu suggested an early start for the construction of the high-altitude sections in the mountain regions.

The second phase of the project will tackle the sections passing the plains after a consensus is reached, he said.

But MOTC officials stressed that the construction of the new freeway will not get underway before the project passes the evaluation of ecological and environmental impact by a committee of the Cabinet-level Environmental Protection Administration (EPA).

EPA chief Chen Chong-hsin said he was not aware of the “two-phase construction” plan.

But he said whether the construction of the freeway may start will still hinge on the outcome of the EPA’s environmental impact evaluation committee.

The panel is expected to start holding meetings to review the project later this month.

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