National Freeway 5

National Highway No. 5 is a freeway, which begins in Taipei City at Nangang SIC. on National Highway No. 3 and ends in Su-ao, Yilan on Masai Road. Although it was called the Beiyi (Chinese abbreviation for Taipei to Yilan) freeway prior to its final completion in June 2006, the official name is the Chiang Wei-shui Memorial Freeway, after the early twentieth century Taiwanese political activist and Yilan native Chiang Wei-shui (蔣渭水) [1].

Length

The total length is 54.3 km.

Major Cities Along the Route

• Taipei City
• Yilan City

Intersections with other Freeways and Expressways

• National Highway No. 3 at Nangang SIC. in Taipei City

Lanes

The lanes in each direction are listed below.

• 2 lanes:
  • Nangang SIC. - Su-ao IC.

Traffic rules

The speed limit in the Hsuehshan Tunnel section is 70 km/h.

The separation distance is 50 m.

Notes

The section between Toucheng, Yilan and Su-ao, Yilan was completed in January 2006.

Hsuehshan Tunnel between Pinglin, Taipei and Toucheng, Yilan is 12.9 km long. It is the fifth longest road tunnel in the world.

Extension to Hualian is planned, but the construction is suspended due to environmental concerns.

Pinglin IC located in Taipei water preservation area, is temporarily opened before the Syueshan Tunnel completed. It will not open to public due to environmental protection issues. The water on the freeway is collected by the water processing plant to prevent polluting the preservation area.

References

http://www.freeway.gov.tw/

http://www.taneeb.gov.tw/home.htm