Difficult terrain boosts cost for Taiwan highway

Taiwan is investing heavily in its highway connections, with work now underway on the Suao-Hualien (Suhua) Highway upgrade project. This major highway project represents a significant investment and is costing some US$1.6 billion in all, with a completion date targeted for the end of 2017. The Suhua highway will link Yilan and Hualien and measure 38.5km in all. Much of the construction work being undertaken will be focussed on the sections from Hezhong-Daqingshui, Nanao-Heping and Suao-Dongao. The project is complex due to the geography of the route and requires the construction of no less than 13 bridges measuring a total of 8.8km and eight tunnels stretching 23.8km in all. The tunnelling work has the biggest impact on the total cost for the project but this is required due to the difficult nature of the terrain.