Must-Read for Your New Year’s Holiday Trip to Yilan: “5 Major Traffic Controls” to Ease Congestion

▲ Yilan Kiwi Square. (Photo / Reporter Xu Wenbin)

Reported by Cai Wenjun / Comprehensive Report

Yilan, which usually sees heavy traffic during consecutive holidays, is gearing up for the upcoming 3-day New Year’s holiday. In addition to announcing peak times for southbound and northbound traffic on national highways over the 3-day period, the authorities have also released information on road controls, public transportation, and the addition of temporary parking lots. They also encourage the public to use public transport when traveling during the holiday.

The Yilan County Government pointed out that if the weather is favorable, there will be large numbers of tourists during peak hours, with January 2nd being the busiest. It is estimated that the daily two-way traffic volume could reach 71,000 vehicles, and some sections may experience congestion. Traffic controls on expressways and general roads are as follows:

Expressways

1. On the night before the start of the consecutive holidays, from 23:00 to 06:00, tolls on all national highways will be suspended in both directions.

2. Expressway No. 5 will implement ramp metering controls. During the control period, priority passage for buses will be enforced at the northern entrances of the Toucheng, Yilan, Luodong, and Su’ao interchanges. Additionally, the shoulder of Expressway No. 5 between Yilan and Toucheng (approximately 35.3K~30.0K) will be flexibly opened for bus use. It is estimated that this will save bus travelers over 30 minutes during peak hours.

3. Shoulder passage for small vehicles will be allowed on the Toucheng exit (approximately 32.7K~30.6K).

4. On December 31st and January 1st, from 07:00 to 12:00, high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) controls will be implemented on the southbound section of Expressway No. 5 (from Nangang System to Pinglin).

5. On January 1st (Sunday) and January 2nd (Monday), from 15:00 to 20:00, HOV controls will be implemented on the northbound section of Expressway No. 5 (from Su’ao to Toucheng).

General Road Controls

1. Traffic diversion controls will also be implemented at multiple locations, including the Dali Tian Gong Temple section and Lanyang Museum section of Provincial Highway 2, the Luodong Guangxing section of Provincial Highway 7C, the Yilan Route 33 Plum Blossom Intersection, the Jiaoxi section of Provincial Highway 9, the northern and southern crossings of the Su-Hua Highway, etc. The public is advised to pay extra attention.

2. To welcome the first sunrise of 2017, the Taroko National Forest Recreation Area will open earlier at 03:00 on New Year’s Day. To maintain eco-tourism quality and traffic conditions, a “time-controlled” policy will be enforced on the Cuifeng Scenic Road from 06:30 to 09:00.

After 06:30, vehicles will be prohibited from entering the Cuifeng Scenic Road until 09:00, after which normal access will resume. Additionally, before 07:30, vehicle passage from Cuifeng Lake to Taiping Villa will be restricted. Visitors are asked to follow the instructions and guidance of police officers to ensure driving safety.

▲ Taiwan Railways. (Photo / Reporter Cai Wenbin)

External Public Transportation

1. During the New Year’s consecutive holiday period, intercity express buses will maintain peak-hour frequencies of every 3–5 minutes. In addition to continuing trial temporary routes from Taipei City and New Taipei City, such as “MRT Sanchong Station (Kuo-Kuang)” and “Songshan Station (Capital)” to and from the Luodong Transfer Station, a new direct route from “Banqiao Transfer Station (Garmai Lan)” to the Luodong Transfer Station will also be added.

Furthermore, in the Yilan area, existing routes will be extended to include two popular attractions: the King Car Distillery (Garmai Lan) and the Luodong Forestry Park (Kuo-Kuang). Travelers can find relevant bus information on the websites of Kuo-Kuang Bus, Capital Bus, and Garmai Lan Bus.

2. For railways, Taiwan Railways has adjusted its schedule to accommodate Yilan County Government’s New Year’s Eve event, adding two additional commuter trains on January 1st (Yilan = Su’ao train 4134 and Yilan = Toucheng train 4155). Additionally, during the New Year’s holiday period, TRA will increase services with three round-trip interval express trains between Shulin and Luodong, as well as three round-trip regular Fu-Hsing trains, all offering a special discounted fare of NT$100. The public is encouraged to make use of these services.

Local Public Transportation

For tour shuttle services, the Yilan County Government has introduced red and green line holiday shuttle buses. The main trunk line buses, identified in red, have been consolidated into two routes: “[Red 1] Waizhao (via Wushi Port) – Luodong Transfer Station” and “[Red 2] Yilan Transfer Station – Nanfang’ao,” both operating at 15-minute intervals.

The sightseeing shuttle bus routes, identified in green, have been expanded to four lines. Together with two Taiwan Tourist Routes, there are a total of six sightseeing shuttle bus routes, operating at 30-minute intervals. At key attractions, alternating routes provide 15-minute direct service.

By taking Yilan County’s “red and green line” buses, which connect major attractions across the county, visitors can also transfer to other local routes such as Taiwan Tourist Routes and Yilan Awesome Routes to reach their next destination or return to the transfer station for the trip back to Taipei.

▲ Main streets of Jiaoxi. (Photo / Reporter Cai Wenbin)

Jiaoxi Traffic Jam Response Measures

1. Encourage the use of alternative routes: Additional signage will guide through traffic to use County Road 192, Yilan Route 8, Yilan Route 6 to Route 191, and Provincial Highway 2 to head north. Drivers can also use the North-Yilan Highway to connect to the Pinglin Interchange or Provincial Highway 2 toward Taipei or Keelung, helping to disperse through traffic.

2. Police will strengthen traffic controls at congested areas such as the intersection between Park Road, the Jiaoxi Transfer Station, and the Head City Interchange to keep intersections clear and increase towing of illegally parked vehicles.