Taiwan’s Southern Cross-Island Highway, which was Devastated by a typhoon in 2009, has reopened to the public after a long closure of 13 years. Also known as Provincial Highway No 20, the 208-km long road starts in Tainan and ends with Degaolu Bridge in Guanshan Township of Taitung County.
The alpine highway is a picturesque road and is popular among tourists due to its route through rural and scenic parts of the island. It also cuts through Taiwan’s Yushan National Park — home to the island’s highest peak, Jade Mountain,
In 2009, the Typhoon Morakot badly damaged the highway with landslides washing away entire sections, and was closed ever since. The 2012 heavy rainfall deteriorated it even further. Since then, there have been continuous reconstruction works and the highway finally reopened earlier this month.
It was devastated by a typhoon in 2009 (Source: ysnp.gov.tw)
According to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC), Taiwan, numerous sections of the 154-km alpine road have been rebuilt over the past 13 years since the storm damaged up to 140-km of the road and washed away 22 bridges, Focus Taiwan reported.
While the motorists are now allowed to travel the full length of the highway, the MOTC noted that precaution and restriction measures will continue to remain in place for the 20-km Tienchi to Hsiangyang section. The section is closed all day on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and motorists are required to enter the section between 7 am -2 pm, on all other days, the ministry said.
Additionally, “only vehicles under 5 metric tonnes in weight, passenger vehicles with up to nine people and motorcycles are allowed access to the section,” the report stated.
On the first day of reopening, more than 5,800 vehicles entered the highway, according to Taiwan’s Directorate General of Highways, CNN reported.
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