Adieu, Cheonggye Overpass

Chonggye overpass, the symbol of Seoul’s development in the 1970s will be demolished to make way for the new Cheonggye waterway beginning July 1.

At 2:00 p.m. on July 1, at Gwang-gyo intersection in Jung-gu, about 2,000 government officials, politicians, foreign emissaries, and citizens will gather for the groundbreaking ceremony of the Cheonggye waterway restoration construction project. Construction will commence immediately following the ceremony.

Seoul will divide the 5.8km long area from the Donga Daily Newspaper building on Sejong-ro, Jongro-gu to Shin-dap Bridge in Majang-dong, and Sungdong-gu into three construction sectors. The city plans to remove the Cheonggye overpass by September 2005 and restore the natural Cheonggye waterway.

The restored waterway will have a 30cm-deep stream, public plaza, landscaping, illumination facilities and other refinements over an 83,000 pyeong area (about 274,381 sq. meters). Also about 24 bridges connecting the south and north will be constructed.

The nearby Cheonggye area will be developed into an international business district with fashion malls and cafes after construction is completed.

The city will turn off all nine entrances to the Cheonggye overpass in order to close is completely. This will begin at midnight on July 1.

Of the eight lanes underneath the overpass, only two lanes in each direction will be open and the rest will be closed to the public except for construction vehicles. At each intersection, left turns will be forbidden and the current twenty U-turn points will be reduced to fifteen (eight Majang-dong-Gwang-gyo direction, seven in the opposite direction).

On the day of the groundbreaking ceremony in the afternoon of July 1, the entrance traffic signals at Gwang-gyo-Cheonggye Second Road and Namsan No. 1 tunnel will be restricted from noon to 3:00 p.m.

The city requests that citizens avoid driving around Cheonggye overpass and utilize public transportation on July 1.

Sang-Keun Song songmoon@donga.com