Taiwan's Mid-Autumn Festival Holiday Begins with Significant Highway Congestion

Travelers face early morning traffic jams on major routes as the holiday period commences.

The first day of the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday in Taiwan saw a surge in southbound traffic starting early in the morning. By mid-morning, several sections of the national highway system were experiencing significant congestion.

According to the Directorate General of Highways (DGH), key areas affected included National Freeway 1 (Guo 1) between Yangmei and Hsinchu, National Freeway 3 (Guo 3) from Shulin to Gaoyuan, and National Freeway 5 (Guo 5) between Nangang and Shiding. The DGH identified nine potential "bottleneck" sections on the national highways expected to experience heavy traffic during the morning hours.

To mitigate the impact of the congestion, the DGH advised travelers heading south on western routes to consider departing after midday. For those using National Freeway 5, it is recommended to plan their departure for after the evening to avoid the peak traffic flow.

During the toll-free period from midnight to 5 AM on the first day of the holiday, the average traffic volume on the national highways reached 9.6 million vehicle-kilometers, which is 2.4 times the average weekday volume of 4.0 million vehicle-kilometers. As of 7 AM, the traffic volume had already reached 16.4 million vehicle-kilometers, with an estimated total traffic volume of 118 million vehicle-kilometers for the entire day.