▲ The reversible lane and signal lights on Sogong-ro, Seoul, in 1982
The reversible lane on Sogong-ro in Jung-gu, the last of its kind in Seoul, will be abolished after approximately 45 years.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it will reconfigure the five-lane road on Sogong-ro into a four-lane road, with completion targeted for November.
Sogong-ro, a major arterial road in the city center connecting Seoul Plaza and the Bank of Korea, has operated as a five-lane road since its installation in August 1981, with one lane changing direction based on traffic volume.
However, the city explained that the area has caused inconvenience due to the narrow width of both the sidewalks and the lanes.
The narrowest part of the sidewalk is only 0.7 meters wide, and some sections between the Westin Josan Hotel intersection and the Bank of Korea intersection have lane widths of around 2.8 meters, which falls short of the 3-meter minimum standard set by the "Rules on Road Structure and Facility Standards."
The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to widen the lanes to at least 3 meters and expand the sidewalk width to approximately 2.7 meters.
The removal of the three reversible lane signal lights is scheduled to take place between 10:00 PM on June 27 and 6:00 AM the following day.
During this period, all lanes in the section between the Westin Josan Hotel intersection and the Bank of Korea will be closed to traffic.
(Photo: Yonhap News / Provided by Seoul Metropolitan Archives)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.