National Highway No. 3 (Taiwan)

National Highway No. 3
福爾摩沙高速公路
Route information
Length:	430.5 km (267.5 mi)
Existed:	January 11th, 2004 – present
Location
Counties:	Keelung, Sijhih, Taipei, Hsintien, Zhonghe, Tucheng, Hsinchu, Changhua, Nantou, Douliu, Chiayi, Pingtung City
Highway system
Highway system in Taiwan ← NH 2 NH 4 →

National Highway No. 3 is the second North-South freeway in Taiwan. It begins in Keelung City at Jijin Interchange on the Provincial Highway No. 2 (Jijin Road) and ends in Linbian, Pingtung on the Provincial Highway No. 17.

The total length of the highway is 430.5 km (267.5 mi), with 55 interchanges, 13 junction interchanges, 11 toll stations, and 7 service areas en route. Besides the 55 interchanges of servicing usage, there are also some interchanges reserved for governmental usage.

Naming

Freeways in Taiwan are officially coded "National Highways" with their respective numbers. By this principle, Freeway No. 3 is coded National Highway No. 3 (國道三號) in official documents or on road signs. Besides the numeric name, on 1 November 2004 it was named the Formosa Freeway (福爾摩沙高速公路) in a naming competition; however, its old alias Second Freeway (第二高速公路 or 北二高) is more popular among the road users.

History

The original plan was only intended to build a second freeway between Taipei and Hsinchu. The construction began in 1987. Tucheng IC - Sanying IC was opened in January 1993, followed by Zhonghe IC to Hsinchu SIC in August 1993. Extension from Hsinchu SIC to Xiangshan IC was finished in February 1996. In March of 1996, Xizhi SIC - Muzha IC was opened. The final phrase of the north section was Muzha IC. - Zhonghe IC, which was completed in August, 1997. The extension between Xizhi SIC and Jijin IC completed in August 2000.

The construction of the freeway south of Hsinchu City began in 1993. In February 2000, Xinhua JCT. - Jiuru IC. was open for the traffic. It was followed by Douliu IC - Xinhua JCT. In November 2001, Xiangshan IC. - Zhunan IC in December 2001, Zhunan IC - Houlong IC in May 2002, Caotun IC - Douliu IC in June 2002, Zhonggang SIC - Longjing IC in October 2002, and Houlong IC - Zhonggang JCT., Kuaiguan IC - Caotun IC in January 2003. The entire project was completed in January 2004 when Longjing IC - Kuaiguan IC was opened.

2010 Landslide

On April 25, 2010, a landslide occurred on a segment of Highway 3 near Xizhi, large amount of dirt buried both directions of the freeway. Four cars were buried under the debris, killing four people.^[1] Bad hillside anchoring was blamed as a possible cause, as it had not been raining at the time of the collapse, and an earthquake was not registered.

Repairs to the freeway were completed on June 19, 2010 and normal traffic flow restored^[2].

Major cities that have exit along the route

Muzha IC and Maokong Gondola in Taipei.

• Keelung City
• New Taipei City
• Taipei City
• Hsinchu City
• Changhua City
• Nantou City
• Douliu City

Intersections with other freeways and expressways

• Provincial Highway No. 62 at Madong JCT. in Keelung City
• National Highway No. 1 at Xizhi JCT. in New Taipei City
• Provincial Highway No. 5 at Nangang IC. in New Taipei City
• National Highway No. 5 at Nangang JCT. in Taipei City
• National Highway No. 3A at Muzha IC. in Taipei City
• Provincial Highway No. 64 at Zhonghe IC. in New Taipei City
• National Highway No. 2 at Yingge JCT. in New Taipei City
• Provincial Highway No. 66 at Daxi IC. in Daxi, Taoyuan
• National Highway No. 1 at Hsinchu JCT. in Baoshan, Hsinchu
• Provincial Highway No. 61 at Xibin IC. in Zhunan, Miaoli
• National Highway No. 4 at Zhonggang JCT. in Taichung City
• Freeway No. 1 at Changhua JCT. in Changhua City
• Provincial Highway No. 74 at Kuaiguan IC. in Changhua City
• Provincial Highway No. 63 at Zhongtou IC. in Taichung City
• National Highway No. 6 at Zhongheng JCT. in Taichung City
• Provincial Highway No. 76 at Zhongxing JCT. in Caotun, Nantou
• Provincial Highway No. 78 at Gukeng JCT. in Gukeng, Yunlin
• Provincial Highway No. 82 at Shuishang JCT. in Shuishang, Chiayi
• Provincial Highway No. 84 at Guantian JCT. in Tainan City
• National Highway No. 8 at Xinhua JCT. in Tainan City
• Provincial Highway No. 86 at Guanmiao IC. in Tainan City
• National Highway No. 10 at Yanchao JCT. in Kaohsiung City
• Provincial Highway No. 88 at Zhutian JCT. in Zhutian, Pingtung

Lanes

The lanes in each direction are listed below.

• 4 lanes:
  • Zhonghe IC. - Yingge JCT.
  • Wufeng IC. - Nantou IC.
• 3 lanes:
  • Jijin IC. - Zhonghe IC.
  • Yingge JCT. - Wufeng IC.
  • Nantou IC. - Jiuru IC.
• 2 lanes:
  • Jiuru IC. - Linbian End

Spur routes

Taipei City - National Highway No. 3A

References

1. ^ "北二高走山 4人罹難" (in Traditional Chinese). Central News Agency. 2010-04-28. http://www.cna.com.tw/SearchNews/doDetail.aspx?id=201004280068&q=%22%e5%8c%97%e4%ba%8c%e9%ab%98%e8%b5%b0%e5%b1%b1+4%e4%ba%ba%e7%bd%b9%e9%9b%a3%22. 
2. ^ "國道3號3.1公里崩塌路段6月19日12時恢復主線雙向3車道通行" (in Traditional Chinese). Taiwan Area National Freeway Bureau. 2010-06-18. http://www.freeway.gov.tw/Publish.aspx?cnid=193&p=2039. 

Freeways and Expressways in Taiwan (Republic of China)
National Highways
N/S 1 Sun Yat-sen 3 Formosa 5 Chiang Wei-shui E/W 2 Taoyuan Inner Beltway 4 Taichung Beltway 6 Nantou Section 8 Tainan Branch 10 Kaohsiung Branch Provincial Highways N/S 61 E/W 62 64 66 68 72 74 76 78 82 84 86 88 Highway System in Taiwan