Some 2.5 million cars were expected to take to the nation’s highways on the Sunday, the last day of the four-day Dragon Boat Festival weekend. In particular, authorities were monitoring northbound sections of highway, with large numbers of people returning to Taipei in the northern part of Taiwan ahead of work on Monday.
With many people opting to return home on Saturday, traffic was relatively light on Sunday morning, picking up later in the afternoon. Officials say that there were only a handful of areas where traffic had slowed considerably.
One of those was the nation’s longest tunnel – Hsuehshan Tunnel – on Highway Number 5, connecting the east coast county of Yilan with Taipei. Officials say that between 3pm and 8pm, only high-occupancy vehicles will be allowed to travel along the northbound section of that road. They say that should help ease the congestion during a peak travel time.
Congestion was also seen on a northbound section of National Highway Number 1 near the city of Yuanlin, Changhua County.
Highway officials were urging travelers to be aware of a torrential rain warning in effect across Taiwan. They said that drivers should turn on their headlights. In the event of poor visibility, they said, drivers should exit the highway or stop in a rest area until the rain subsists.