Rock Shed to Be Included in Suhua Safety Construction Plan 為「蘇花安」路段 交通部允中期建明隧道

Experts say a rock shed and a new tunnel are needed to fundamentally improve the safety of this section. However, it might take another 9 years for the contructions to take place due to legal and environmental reasons.

There are few passengers aboard this Hualien-bound train that departed from Yilan on the morning of the 13th with the Suhua Corridor out of commission, Taiwan Railways will be adding 12 local train runs between Yilan and Hualien between the 13th and 15th.

Tourist: “I live in Nan'ao and I didn't know about this train.”

Train Engineer: “(It stops) in Nan'ao, Heping, Xincheng and Hualien.”

In the wake of the collapse, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications issued a short-, mid- and long-term plan. The short-term plan is for the tunnel to reopen by the end of the weekend, while the mid-term plan involves the construction of another rock shed and the long-term plan involves the construction of a new long tunnel. The collapse occurred in the Heren-Chongde section. Despite being infamous for falling rocks, the section was excluded from the Suhua Highway Improvement Project. Under the Suhua safety plan, a 9.7-kilometer tunnel will be built.

Su Hsien-ho, Director of Planning, Directorate-General of Highways: “We have a 9.7-kilometer tunnel planned. In the future, it will prevent this kind of collapse.”

Residents of eastern Taiwan have been calling on the government to provide them with "safe passage home" for years, but to no avail. In 2004, a Hualien County Government survey found that 77 percent of residents supported the construction of the highway. In 2006, Su Tseng-chang, who was also premier then, also voiced support for the highway. Two years later, the environmental impact assessment committee rejected the project. The government then downgraded the highway to an expressway in 2010 and then in 2011 unveiled the "Provincial Highway 9 Suhua Highway Mountainous Section Improvement Project." It took until 2021 for the highway to open to traffic in full, while the sections of the highway that had yet to undergo improvement were transferred to the Suhua safety plan.

Wang Kwo-tsai, Minister, Ministry of Transportation and Communications: “The Suhua safety plan includes bridges and tunnels, including ones going around Taroko National Park. So, the environmental impact assessment won't be finished until the end of the year because seasonal data is needed. So, we are proceeding with the Suhua improvement and Suhua safety plans at the same time.”

In 2010, 26 tourists were killed when their bus fell off the highway into the ocean after being hit by falling rocks. The government's response was to accelerate the improvement project. With the most recent collapse, area residents are calling on the government to stop dragging its feet on Suhua safety construction.

13日上午台鐵由宜蘭開往花蓮的第1班加班區間車，還未到通勤時間，旅客並不多，為因應蘇花路廊中斷，鐵路運輸需求可能增加，台鐵即日起到15日，各加開宜蘭至花蓮12班區間車。

旅客提及：「我住南澳，不知道有這班車。」

列車長說道：「（會停）南澳、和平、新城和花蓮站。」

往返花蓮雙向公路中斷，交通部訂出3階段目標，短期搶修，力拼週日通車，中期再次興建明隧道，長期要興建長隧道。這次事故路段就位在蘇花安計畫中的和仁到崇德路段，屬於易落石區域，過去沒有納入蘇花改路段，在蘇花安計畫中，將興建9.7公里的長隧道。

公路總局規劃組長蘇先知表示：「未來在蘇花安裡面的設計，他是採一個9.7公里的一個長隧道。長隧道來做處理那未來他可以避開，我們這一次坍方的這個路段。」

蘇花路廊因地質和氣候條件，歷年來坍方不斷，東部民眾多年來訴求安全回家。回顧過去，交通部也曾提出蘇花高速公路方案。2004年花蓮縣政府委外民調，高達7成7在地民眾支持蘇花高。2006年當時也擔任行政院長的蘇貞昌也表態支持興建蘇花高，但2年後，環評案遭委員退回。2010年降級為快速道路等級，2011年正名為台9線蘇花公路山區路段改善計畫，就是蘇花改，接下來分階段通車，2021年才全線通，剩下未改善路線則納入蘇花安。

交通部長王國材指出：「整個蘇花安他除了橋梁隧道以外，他還經過太魯閣國家公園，所以他的環評要做到年底，共四季的環評資料來說服環評委員，所以同時不管是蘇花改我們把他完成，蘇花安也是盡力在完成。」

2010年創意旅行社遊覽車在蘇花公路上，遇上大量土石崩塌，翻落海底，奪走26條人命，加速了當時蘇花改推動進度，如今蘇花路廊又發生大規模崩塌，地方大聲疾呼，希望能加速蘇花安工程，別再延宕。