TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The proposed project for the Kaohsiung section of National Highway No. 7 passed an environmental impact assessment by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) on Wednesday (Sept. 28).

The Freeway Bureau said that it expects the land acquisition can be completed by 2015, that construction can start by 2016, and that construction can be completed by 2030 at the earliest, CNA reported.

According to the data, the main line of the national highway’s Kaohsiung section will be about 23 km long, and include a bridge of about 21 km and a stretch of road about 2 km in length. The project will also include seven interchanges.

According to the Freeway Bureau’s website, after the construction of the Kaohsiung portion of National Highway No. 7 is completed, it will effectively share the traffic flow of National Highway No. 1, thereby relieving the congestion south of Nanzih and reducing the traffic load on the Dingjin System Interchange and the Wujia System Interchange. It is also expected to reduce traffic jams where Provincial Highway No. 88 connects with National Highway No. 1.

The bureau said that the completion of the new national highway’s Kaohsiung section will also divert a large amount of industrial traffic flow between the adjacent industrial areas such as Linhai Industrial Park, Dafa Industrial Park, and Linyuan Industrial Park along with Kaohsiung International Airport. It will also likely reduce regular traffic congestion around the ramps near the end of National Highway No. 1.

Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said on Thursday that National Highway No. 7 will connect with the highway networks around eastern Kaohsiung and with the port area and industrial parks in Daliao and Renwu districts. He hopes that the central government will speed up the construction of the highway, which will make Kaohsiung’s traffic smoother and safer, per CNA.