Is there a gov’t site that shows the km marker of closures on the Su-Hua (#9) after Typhoon Megi? It’s only a highway, so not on the Freeway page.
I’ve got this which says 113-115 km. Any more?
Also any links to aerial pics of the landslides would be good.
closed till mid to end November, last i read.
Some clips on the road
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voRZxuv9Owc
the roads a mess
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MO2h6JGZK7Y&feature=fvw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy9l4mrQdNs&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmKsFbMdWVk&feature=related
wonder if there’s a chance this road may also be permanently closed (or at least sections thereof and tunnels would need to be bored to replace those sections).
thanks Tommy, looking at the scale of some of those landslides, even end Nov seems optimistic. Some serious rebuilding to be done. But from all I can see, the problem areas are between 112-116 km markers (that first Su’ao to Dong’ao section). The road from Dong’ao to Hualien is still fully open and driveable (?).
I’ll get Wife to check with the local gov’t here in town, they must know ( 
).
We are planning on coming through there on 01/02 on our way down the coast. If it stays closed we need to totally re-plan our entire vacation.
How are you planning on traveling? You can still take a train down to Hualien (AFAIK).
We still got trains. If you only intend to come down for Taroko, then it’s madness to drive down just for that anyway. Far more chilled to take the train down from Taipei.
Heard that because of the Suhua closure, cheap train tickets have been introduced to ‘compensate’ those affected. Suspect this only applies to those purchasing tickets in Hualien / Taidong, but $200 one way Hualien-Taipei, for example.
[color=#000080]edit - it’s 1 specific train per day in each direction, all tickets $200[/color]
And the local supermarket had some empty shelves today - obviously stuff that was previously transported down by road is not getting through any other way right now.
Consider that Hualian used to NOT have a train service, except a narrow gauge one from Taitung. And Taitung did not have a train service to Kaohsiung then. And travel to Hualien meant a 25 min flight by 737 (NT$499 each way circa 1978) or a once a day bus ride from Taipei in the morning or a twice a day each way from Su’ao. The Su’ao-Hualian was far more dangerous in those days as the cliff hugging sections were all one lane and there were few tunnels so when i say cliff hugging, i meant cliff hugging. IF you put your arm out it was literally over the cliff and the mountain was only a few feet away on the other side.
There were 3 sections i remember and each time you entered a small village on the plains you waited until traffic from the other side came through, then you transited the next section.
Someone sat by the side of the road counting how many vehicles entered each time and someone counted on the other end to make sure all vehicles were accounted for.
When the Su’ao-Hualian became two lane and traffic restriction ended it was awesome already. They also started tunnelling many sections deemed too dangerous. I think that will have to be done again , as the typhoon proves that it is still dangerous in heavy rains in many areas.
I haven’t been through on that road more then about a half dozen times in all. But each time i remember breathing a sigh of relief. It IS hairy.
[quote=“tommy525”]Consider that Hualian used to NOT have a train service, except a narrow gauge one from Taidong. And Taidong did not have a train service to Kaohsiung then. And travel to Hualian meant a 25 min flight by 737 (NT$499 each way circa 1978) or a once a day bus ride from Taipei in the morning or a twice a day each way from Su’ao. The Su’ao-Hualian was far more dangerous in those days as the cliff hugging sections were all one lane and there were few tunnels so when I say cliff hugging, I meant cliff hugging. IF you put your arm out it was literally over the cliff and the mountain was only a few feet away on the other side.
There were 3 sections I remember and each time you entered a small village on the plains you waited until traffic from the other side came through, then you transited the next section.
Someone sat by the side of the road counting how many vehicles entered each time and someone counted on the other end to make sure all vehicles were accounted for.
When the Su’ao-Hualian became two lane and traffic restriction ended it was awesome already. They also started tunneling many sections deemed too dangerous. I think that will have to be done again, as the typhoon proves that it is still dangerous in heavy rains in many areas.
I haven’t been through on that road more then about a half dozen times in all. But each time i remember breathing a sigh of relief. It IS hairy.[/quote]
Damn, tommy this would have made a great box text for the new Taiwan Lonely Planet. I’m going to remember this for next time.
[quote=“Mucha Man”][quote=“tommy525”]Consider that Hualian used to NOT have a train service, except a narrow gauge one from Taidong. And Taidong did not have a train service to Kaohsiung then. And travel to Hualian meant a 25 mins flight by 737 (499 nt each way circa 1978) or a once a day bus ride from TAipei in the morning or a twice a day each way from Suao. The Suao Hualian was far more dangerous in those days as the cliff hugging sections were all one lane and there were few tunnels so when I say cliff hugging, I meant cliff hugging. IF you put your arm out it was literally over the cliff and the mountain was only a few feet away on the other side.
There were 3 sections i remember and each time you entered a small village on the plains you waited until traffic from the other side came thru, then you transitted the next section.
Someone sat by the side of the road counting how many vehicles entered each time and someone counted on the other end to make sure all vehicles were accounted for.
When the Suao-Hualian became two lane and traffic restriction ended it was awesome already. They also started tunnelling many sections deemed too dangerous. I think that will have to be done again , as the typhoon proves that it is still dangerous in heavy rains in many areas.
I havent been thru on that road more then about a half dozen times in all. But each time i remember breathing a sigh of relief. It IS hairy.[/quote]
Damn, tommy this would have made a great box text for the new Taiwan Lonely Planet. I’m going to remember this for next time.[/quote]
Still same setup when I arrived, and don’t forget there was also a large public ferry at the time running from Keelung to Hualien.
If the road is down for any length of time, this is something they could consider…From Suao would be no more than 70km by sea.
There’s a reason that some call Hwy 9 the Highway of Death.
Indeed. And speaking of death what the hell are you doing with my butterfly pic as your avatar?
Yes MJB. That was my first and so far only time on a ship. It was incredibly fun. Only 200nt if I remember. IT was a 10,000 ton car ferry from Japan. It wasnt brand new but pretty new. IT was a five and a half hour ride hugging the coastline from Keelung to Hualian. I stayed on deck for the first 4 hours then went inside to explore the main deck. And found this tiny tiny bar, all blacked out cept for one single light per small round table (very sexy) and a few very very cute 20 year old waitresses in short short skirts. If I had known, I woulda been there for 4 hours of the journey.
I remember that journey well. Missed my flight home that evening and ended up getting laid for the first time. WOW.
Then not much later the ship lost so much money its owners scuttled it right in Hualian harbor (no injuries) to claim insurance. It didnt work and they got jailed and the ship got scrapped.
Dam shame. It would be awesome to have that today. IT is simply awesome the scenery all the way there. Due to the waters being so deep right off the coastline there, we were only about 100 yards from shore most the whole way . Awesome views. IF I can find the slides I took (yes remember those…slides…ektachrome?)
And oh, I had a chuckle from the big Emergency Procedures sign on the main deck. It had many lines of instruction in Mandarin for what to do in an Emergency but they didnt bother with the english so much.
In english there were only two lines.
When the Emergency bell ring:
Step 1. Prepare to abondon the ship ! (yes abondon)
Step 2. Abondon the ship !
How are you planning on traveling? You can still take a train down to Hualian (AFAIK).[/quote]
We’ll have a rental car. Our plan takes us like this Taichung > Taipei > Jiaosi > Hualien > HeHuanShan > QingJing > Taichung.
[quote=“MJB”]Still same setup when I arrived, and don’t forget there was also a large public ferry at the time running from Keelung (Jilong) to Hualian.
If the road is down for any length of time, this is something they could consider…From Suao would be no more than 70km by sea.[/quote]
I thought two-way traffic came in in the mid-80s? Have you been here that long? In any case, I meant it would make for a great tale to interview some old timers like you and tommy about the old days on the highway. 
The public ferry is a great idea especially with the interest in biking now. Way easier to arrange for people with bikes on a boat than the train.
Indeed another RORO (roll on- roll off) ferry like the Hualian Ferry would possibly make sense again. Because it can take a lot of container trucks. Truckers could drive to keelung, take a five and a half hour break and arrive in Hualian and if the transport was less then the price of gas to drive the trucks there, it would be a winner. The road would be a lot safer is a lot of trucks were simply shipped instead of driven. Freeing up the road for cars and tourist buses (who could also take the ship as well even).
It could work again. And the Railroads certainly can take containers as well. Trucks could be used to truck containers up to the rails and then off again at the other end. Massive efficiency increase and less pollution. These ships are all weather (other then typhoons) and provide a new diversion and also a viable transport of people and cargo and their conveyance.
Indeed. And speaking of death what the hell are you doing with my butterfly pic as your avatar?[/quote]
I was the one who spotted the butterfly! 
Good editorial on the highway. Even with approval the new road will take 5-6 years, which of course really means 10. The gov is going to have to come up with alternative measures as traffic will be so slow because of construction delays. The article does mention maritime options which means others are thinking of ferries too. It seems like such a logical conclusion. The scenery is outstanding, the distance not great, and it would be an addition to a travel experience down the coast not a detriment. I’m sure Chinese and other tourists would love a ferry ride past the Qingshui cliffs. I would.
[quote=“Mucha Man”]I’m sure Chinese and other tourists would love a ferry ride past the Qingshui cliffs. I would.
[/quote]
I would too. In fact, I suspect a lot of Taiwan would look pretty great from a boat. How about a boat service between Danshui and Keelung?
[quote=“Mucha Man”]Good editorial on the highway. Even with approval the new road will take 5-6 years, which of course really means 10. . . .
kmt.org.tw/english/page.aspx … &anum=8817[/quote]
Yea, that is a good editorial. Wow. Thanks for posting it. I was surprised/pleased to see, too, the common sense and lack of knee-jerk hurry-up-and-build-the-damned-thing mentality. It appeared at first it would simply dismiss the crazy “environmental” claims, but then it didn’t. And of course environmental protection is only one small issue; there’s also public safety and the potential wasting of billions of dollars and many years on stupid, futile, ill thought out projects. Let’s hope those in power can demonstrate comparable intelligence.
[quote=“StevenCrook”][quote=“Muzha Man”]I’m sure Chinese and other tourists would love a ferry ride past the Qingshui cliffs. I would.
[/quote]
I would too. In fact, I suspect a lot of Taiwan would look pretty great from a boat. How about a boat service between Danshui and Keelung (Jilong)?[/quote]
I agree; there used to be ships plying the waters all over the region, to Japan, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Shanghai, etc. to and from various ports in Taiwan. I’d love for more passenger shipping to open up in the region. Japanese islands are just a short boat ride from Hualian, and larger boats could take people all around the island as well as to nearby countries. Then again, I have a certain affection for ships that most people may not share in their rush to get places on jets these days.