The whole line of the Zhongliao Circular Road in Nantou County is opened to traffic at a cost of more than NT$1.36 billion! Its inauguration ceremony took place on 10th with County Mayor Hsu ShuHua and local personalities attended to cut ribbons. “The north and south area of Zhongliao Township are finally connected and the circular road is now opened to traffic. It will not only bring benefit to Zhongliao Township, but also contribute a lot to the delivery of agricultural products and tourism development,” said County Mayor Hsu ShuHua.

In the past, the transportation in Zhongliao Township is limited by its mountainous environment, resulting in slow industrial development and limited disaster prevention and relief capabilities. Nantou County Government had strived for subsidies from the central government to build Zhongliao Circular Road, a transportation network surrounding Zhongliao, with the total cost of more than NT$1.3 billion. The opening of the circular road will help the development of the transportation and tourism in Zhongliao. County Mayor Hsu expressed her gratitude to the former mayor Lin MingChen for his planning and to the Legislator Ma WenChun for her actively striving for subsidies. Fortunately, Directorate General of Highways, Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) identified the Zhongliao Circular Road as region-based road and approved subsidies. In the other hand, Nantou County Government also raised matching funds of more than NT$ 300 million to promote traffic improvement in Zhongliao Township.

 The construction is scheduled into 3 phases. The 1st phase of the construction was opened to traffic in April last year and the 2nd and 3rd ones were finally opened to traffic this January. These 2 phases connect Nantou 22 and Nantou 26 in Hexing Village with a total length of 8.54 kilometers, and are known as the "last mile" construction program of the circular road network. The entire section covers a two-lane dual carriageway. Each lane is 3.5 meters wide with the shoulder width of 1.0 meters on both sides. Solutions such as bridges, slope protection, and retaining walls were enforced according to the terrain to greatly improve the safety of all road users. “Zhongliao Circular Road is an important connecting road for the rural area. Its aim is to improve effectively the traffic in Zhongliao Township. Its 10 meters width makes it available for applying for bus and intercity bus operations to bring greater prosperity,” said Hsieh ChuinHsiung, Director of Central Region Branch Office, Highway Bureau, MOTC.