Freeway 3 2.18

Freeway No. 3, also known as Formosa Freeway, 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 430.5km, with 55 interchanges, 13 junctions, 11 toll stations, and 7 service areas en route. Aside from the 55 public interchanges, there are also some interchanges reserved for governmental usage.NamingFreeways in Taiwan are officially coded "Freeways" with their respective numbers. By this principle, Freeway No. 3 is coded Freeway 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.FormThis freeway is actually a bypass form. It was mostly routed through suburban and rural areas of Western Taiwan. Various expressways and east-west freeways link Freeway 3 with urban areas typically served by Freeway 1. The purpose of this freeway is to inspire the economic activities in the rural area.HistoryThe 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 1996, Xizhi SIC - Muzha IC was opened. The final phase 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.