The huge £3.3bn motorway project that will expand an already busy road

One of the busiest stretches of road in Taiwan is set to have a £3.3 billion ($4.3 billion) makeover to help speed travel to and from the capital Taipei. 

In a bid to boost capacity and cut heavy congestion, extra lanes will be added to the 27.3-mile stretch of National Freeway No1 from Yangmei to Toufen, which sits in the northwest of Taiwan just south of the capital. 

Work is set to take nine years for the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, which is overseeing the major project, and it should be complete by 2033. 

It was first given the go-ahead in May 2020 when the feasibility study was approved by Taiwan's National Development Council, and it subsequently passed the environmental impact assessment in December 2023.

It seems part of a series of plans to develop Taiwan's road infrastructure.

The National Development Council also approved a plan in December 2023 to connect Yangmei to Toufen via a freeway overpass to divert 30 percent of the traffic from the frequently congested stretch of National Freeway No1. 

National Freeway No1 is 232.6 miles long and connects Keelung which is just north of the capital Taipei, with Kaohsiung in the south of the country. As the name suggests, it was the first motorway built in the country.

Taiwan's Ministry of Transportation has also set aside £143.9 million ($188.3 million) over three years to improve cycle paths across the island, as announced in February this year. 

Minister for transport Wang Kwo-tsai said they believe it will raise the profile of Taiwan as a leading country for cycling tourism.

Taiwan already has a major transnational cycle route which cost around £27.8 million ($36.4 million) and takes on average 9 to 12 days to complete.