The mountain collapse affecting Provincial Highway No. 2 at Keelung’s Chaojing Park entrance has been repaired ahead of schedule. Originally scheduled to reopen on Tuesday, Transportation Minister Li Meng-yen (李孟諺) said the route will be fully usable by 2 p.m. on Monday due to smooth roadwork progress.
On June 3, a landslide of roughly 4,400 square meters in surface area containing approximately 12,000 cubic meters of rubble and soil impacted the highway and nine vehicles. Around 50 large boulders, with the heaviest weighing up to 100 tonnes, fell from as high as 40 meters. All those affected were able to escape, with only two injured; a 46-year-old man surnamed Wang (王), who suffered a head injury and abdominal bleeding from being trapped in a truck, and a 40-year-old man surnamed Chen (陳) who suffered fractures on his shoulder blades and ribs. Li said the combined effects of recent earthquakes and continuous heavy rain are suspected to have triggered the landslide.
Li advises that because a six-meter buffer zone is reserved at the site, the road width will be slightly narrowed and the speed limit will be reduced to 25 kph. He emphasizes that drivers should pay attention when passing through this area and said he hopes the road reopening will alleviate traffic flow during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday.