TAIWAN
CIVIL ENGINEERING AND PUBLIC WORKS
Ta-Han Bridge
DE
NORTHERN CROSS-ISLAND
EVELOPMENT of Taiwan has always in the past been handicapped by the lack of roads between the west and east sides of the island. The name Taiwan means "terraced bays" and describes the way in which the island has developed through the stress of its geographical formation.
A high and complex mountain range runs north and south leaving comparatively narrow stretches of flat and cultivable land running down from the mountain range to the sea coast. The two strips of land lying on the east and west sides of the is- land have through the centuries been linked only by winding highways clinging the sea shore.
With the rapid growth in popula- tion and economic development of these areas during recent years it be- came apparent that a shorter link between west and east would not only facilitate
facilitate communication but would also open up new
areas for various forms of economic exploita- tion.
Far East Architect & Builder March, 1967
First step in this joint project of opening up the interior of the island and improving east-west communica- tion was the building of the East-West Cross-Island Highway
Highway which
was completed five years ago. This road runs from Hwalien, the only large port on the east side of the island, to cities on the other coast.
Backbone of the task force on this highway was a large body of retired servicemen who overcame great diffi- culties in forcing through the road and then settled down as fruit farmers in the highlands on ground made accessible by the new highway which not only takes them to their proper- ties but also takes their produce to domestic and overseas markets.
Mountain Route
Second step has been the comple- tion in 1966 of the Northern Cross- Island Highway which
from Tapu village in Taipeh Hsien in the west to Chilan in Ilan Hsien in the
runs
HIGHWAY
by Hu Mei-Huang
Chief Engineer
Taiwan Harbour Bureau
east, linking a number of small towns and villages in the high mountains: Sannin, Fuhsing. Lofou, Kaopu, Yunghwa, Kaoyi, Paling, Taman, Hsuenyuan, Hsitsun and Chihtuen, where the road crosses the highest ridge of the dividing range. From Chilan it runs south along the Chushui River, over the Szeyuan Pass and then along the Tachia River to Lishan where it joins the existing East-West Cross-Island Highway. (See map on Page 58).
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