Congestion expected on 15 freeway sections Sunday afternoon

Taipei, Oct. 5 (CNA) Heavy congestion is expected on 15 freeway sections later Sunday as the Mid-Autumn Festival long weekend enters its second day, the Freeway Bureau said, although conditions were mostly clear in the morning.

Citing real-time traffic data, the bureau said conditions were mostly smooth around noon. It forecast Sunday's total traffic at about 115 million vehicle-kilometers, about 1.3 times the weekday average.

With mostly sunny to partly cloudy weather across the island, the bureau predicted heavy travel in the afternoon, particularly on the following sections:

Freeway No. 1: Southbound between Yangmei and Toufen; northbound between Xiluo and Puyan System, Nantun and Houli, Miaoli and Hukou, and Yuanshan and Dahua System.

Freeway No. 3: Southbound between Tucheng and Guanxi; northbound between Zhushan and Zhongxing, Caotun and Wufeng, Dashan and Xiangshan, and Guanxi and Daxi.

Freeway No. 5: Southbound between Nangang System and Toucheng; northbound between Yilan and Pinglin.

Freeway No. 4: Westbound between Tanzih System and Fengshi.

Freeway No. 6: Westbound between Jiuzheng and Wufeng System.

Freeway No. 10: Westbound between Renwu and Zuoying.

Northbound traffic on western Taiwan's freeways is expected to start building between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. and ease after 8 p.m. Northbound traffic on Freeway No. 5 will start increasing after noon and may not clear until midnight, the bureau said.

Southbound travelers on Freeway No. 5 are advised to depart after 5 p.m. to avoid congestion.

Motorists can check real-time traffic updates on the bureau's 1968 website (https://1968.freeway.gov.tw/) or mobile app.