Korea Expressway Corp. (KEC President Chang Seok-hyo) devotes itself to promoting environment-oriented expressway construction and technology development as part of its efforts to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The KEC has developed a GHG emissions calculation program for use in the construction of expressways and is implementing a voluntary agreement on GHG emissions with a target of reducing some 72,000 tons of emissions from expressway construction sites over two years. The corporation advanced the completion of three chronic bottleneck expressway routes totaling 134 km in combined length during last year, resulting in a reduction of 55,000 tons of GHG emissions, while installing photovoltaic power and other new and renewable energy facilities at service areas and branch offices across the nation.

In an effort to expand carbon sinks and restore the ecosystem, the corporation plans to plant 9.7 million trees over three years along with 13,000 native plants. It also plans to reuse about 60,000 m2 of lumber waste each year with a yearly target of reducing 100,000 tons of GHG emissions. Closed roads covering 100,000 m2 in 10 locations will be restored with new soil and transplanted trees, while interchange greenery areas will be transformed into multi-purpose ecological areas and wetlands to promote biodiversity and have an effect of absorbing about 3,000 tons of carbon yearly. The Jeonju Arboretum, established by the KEC in Banwoel-dong, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju, is credited with contributing to restoring plants in danger of extinction by replanting 734 rare plants, having been preserved and proliferated for five years, along the Mokpo-Gwangyang Expressway.  

The proliferation of the non-stop toll-collecting Hi-Pass system is designed to reduce the time spent at tollgates by one-fifth and cut down on fuel use, having an effect of reducing some 120,000 tons of GHG emissions over three years. 

Snow-melting systems using geothermal heat and photovoltaic power have been developed as part of the KEC’s efforts to lead the proliferation of green technologies. A special purpose company was established to install a photovoltaic power plant with a capacity of 25MW, the equivalent of the yearly electricity consumption by a city like PyeongChang, on a now-defunct road site of 500,000 square meters. The KEC plans to implement Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) emission reduction projects using LED streetlights and photovoltaic power plants at now-defunct road sites with a goal of securing 230,000 tons of certified carbon reductions in the next decade. Energy-conserving tollgates will be developed and installed at 400 locations to have an effect of reducing 6,000 tons of GHG emissions per year. 

The KEC plans to build infrastructure to cope with climate change by improving drainage systems, improving access to expressways in case of floods, installing automatic snow removal systems, and other steps, Executive Director Kim Sung-hwan, of the Construction Division at Korea Expressway Corp. said.

The KEC plans to build infrastructure to make its staff’s commitments to being green part of their daily lives. The corporation has introduced a carbon fund system in which employees can volunteer to donate 2 percent of their business trip expenses and management deposits the same amounts of money to raise funds for donating solar-heated water tanks to facilities for the physically handicapped. Electric vehicle charging stations will be installed at six service areas while more than 70 percent of replacements to aging office cars will be made with lighter vehicles, hybrid cars, and environmentally friendly vehicles. 

‘ROAD DAY ANNIVERSARY’ 

Road Day was inaugurated in 1991 to celebrate the July 7, 1970 opening of the Gyeongbu (Seoul-Busan) Expressway, a driving force behind the nation’s economic growth, recollect the challenges and creative spirit of those in the road and transportation industry, and facilitate continuous technology development. Diverse events, including an anniversary ceremony, a technology seminar, and a new technology fair, have been since held. The 2012 Road Day anniversary ceremony took place at the Seoul Kyoyukmunhwahoekwan in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, on July 6.

Currently, the nation has a network of 32 expressway routes standing at 4,015 km in combined length, representing a 7.5-fold jump over 537 km in 1970. 

LONG-TERM CONSTRUCTION PLAN 

In 1992 the predecessor of the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs established a plan to build a road network in a grid pattern with seven artery expressways running from north to south and nine arteries running from east to west. It has pushed ahead with projects to expand national trunk roads by establishing a road refurbishment master plan in 1998, calling for expanding the combined length of the road network to 6,160 km by 2020 and revised the plan in 2011 to make it 7,266 km in total length, including expressway routes in the Seoul metropolitan area.  

Due to the uncertainties surrounding future investments in the SOC sector and the KEC’s financing conditions, the corporation plans to expand the road network to 6,076 km in total length including 5,953 km for expressways by 2020, which accounts for 84 percent of the original target. If the corporation invests about 2.5 trillion won in annual expressway construction costs, it would make it to the original target by 2037.