Dadu Hemei Bridge Opens, Cutting Taichung–Changhua Trip From 30 Minutes to Three

A new crossing ends a long detour

The Dadu Hemei Bridge opened across Taiwan's Wu River on October 31, 2026, creating a direct connection between Taichung's Dadu District and Changhua County's Hemei Township after more than 20 years of local campaigning. Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen and Changhua County Magistrate Wang Huei-mei attended the opening ceremony at 3 p.m. on the Taichung side.

Taichung's government says the bridge will cut a journey that previously required a detour of more than 10 kilometres and at least 30 minutes to about three minutes. Using 30 minutes as the starting point, that means a saving of 27 minutes, or a 90% reduction in travel time. The Ministry of the Interior gave a new journey estimate of two to three minutes.

The project cost approximately NT$3.3 billion, according to the two local governments. It provides four traffic lanes, motorcycle facilities and a shared path for pedestrians and cyclists. Officials said construction finished four months ahead of schedule, bringing a much shorter river crossing to residents travelling for school, work and medical care.

Why neighbouring communities needed a bridge

Dadu and Hemei face each other across the Wu River, but their proximity previously offered little help to people driving between them. Without a direct crossing, residents had to use either the Zhongzhang Bridge on Provincial Highway 17 or the Dadu Bridge on Provincial Highway 1.

Those routes sent traffic away from the two communities before bringing it back across the river. Taichung Construction Bureau Director Chen Da-tian said before the opening that the new bridge would remove the need for the detour of more than 10 kilometres.

A resident making the same journey in both directions would save about 54 minutes if each trip fell from 30 minutes to three. Wang identified access to education, health care and employment as the main everyday benefits. The shorter crossing gives residents a more direct route to those destinations on the other side of the river.

What the bridge provides

The bridge is 22 metres wide, with four lanes for traffic travelling in both directions. The project description also includes two motorcycle priority lanes and a shared walking and cycling path on the western side, providing space for people crossing without a car.

Wang described the completed crossing as 1,690 metres long, a figure also given by the Ministry of the Interior. The description issued before the opening gave a length of about 1,440 metres. Neither authority explained the difference between those measurements.

The western path adds a recreational role to the transport project. Residents can walk or cycle above the Wu River and see the sunset, a feature highlighted during preparations for the opening. The shared path gives pedestrians and cyclists a place on a crossing otherwise designed to carry substantial road traffic.

Construction began in January 2023. Taichung's project account identified river flows, changes in tidal levels and the working environment as challenges during the build. Those conditions affected work in and around the river before the crossing could be completed.

How the project reached opening day

Lu said local calls for a bridge began more than 20 years ago. Wang traced her involvement to 2012, when she began serving in the legislature, and said she and Taichung legislator Yen Kuan-heng pursued the project over successive terms.

Taichung took responsibility for planning and design. After becoming county magistrate, Wang said she worked with Taichung through the Central Taiwan Regional Governance Platform, a mechanism through which neighbouring local governments coordinate projects that cross their boundaries.

The main milestones were:

• More than 20 years before opening: local residents began advocating a direct Dadu–Hemei crossing.
• 2012: Wang said she began pursuing the project while serving as a legislator.
• January 2023: construction started.
• October 31, 2026: the opening ceremony and public walk took place, with officials announcing completion four months ahead of schedule.

Lu described the bridge as the fulfilment of an election commitment, while Wang thanked the Taichung construction team for completing it early. Both leaders presented the project as a shared undertaking requiring cooperation across the city and county boundary.

Who paid for the crossing?

Lu and Wang said Taichung and Changhua each took responsibility for half of the project budget of approximately NT$3.3 billion. Central government grants paid a large part of those allocations, reducing the amount the local governments had to provide from their own funds.

Wang gave a detailed breakdown for Changhua: an allocation of approximately NT$1.62048 billion, including NT$1.21918 billion from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications' Highway Bureau and NT$401.3 million from the county government. Those figures put the national grant at roughly three quarters of Changhua's share.

The Ministry of the Interior put the total project cost at NT$3.2 billion, compared with the local governments' approximately NT$3.3 billion. It listed NT$1.18735 billion in support from its own budget and NT$1.21741 billion from the transport ministry, with the remaining cost shared by Taichung and Changhua.

The two ministry figures add up to NT$2.40476 billion, equivalent to about 75% of the ministry's stated total. Its support came through the Living Circle Road Transportation System Construction Plan, a programme for improving the road connections people use between neighbouring communities. The financing combined national grants with local responsibility for delivering the bridge.

Opening celebrations also brought a dispute over speaking roles

Deputy Interior Minister Tung Chien-hung and Legislative Yuan Deputy Speaker Johnny Chiang attended the ceremony alongside Lu, Wang, legislators and local representatives. Performances included drumming and a dragon dance by pupils from Yongshun Elementary School.

Lu cited the heat and the large number of guests when explaining that a representative would speak on behalf of government officials and elected representatives. She selected Chiang, the legislature's deputy speaker. Tung, who represented the central government, was not given a speech slot.

The arrangement drew attention because national grants covered much of the bridge's cost. Tung spoke to reporters after the ceremony, saying cooperation between central and local government could benefit residents and that the central government placed importance on development in central Taiwan.

Lu and Wang highlighted their shared commitment to building the crossing. The funding figures show how that local partnership depended on substantial national support, with different levels of government contributing to the same project.

How the crossing fits the wider road network

The bridge is intended to connect journeys involving Provincial Highways 61 and 74, National Freeways 1 and 3, and other national and provincial routes. Wang linked those connections to the goal of a Taichung–Changhua living area in which important destinations can be reached within 30 minutes.

The three minute journey refers specifically to travel between Dadu and Hemei using the new crossing. The wider 30 minute goal concerns connections across the surrounding region. The bridge gives drivers a more direct river route within that larger network.

The Ministry of the Interior said the crossing would also help ease congestion on existing bridges. Chiang identified improvements to surrounding access roads as the next task and said legislators would work with local governments and councils to seek better connections.

Access roads carry traffic between a bridge and nearby streets or major highways. Improving them would help distribute vehicles arriving at either end of the new crossing, extending the benefit beyond the time spent crossing the river itself.

Thousands join the first public walk

More than 3,000 people joined a walk across the bridge following the ceremony. Organisers had announced a route of about three kilometres, with no registration requirement or entry fee. Participants could collect stamps and exchange completed collections for a limited supply of commemorative gifts.

The event gave residents an early opportunity to experience the pedestrian space and river views. The western shared path is one of the project's practical attractions for people who want to cross on foot or by bicycle rather than drive.

Taichung also announced a photography competition, offering each of the top 30 winners NT$3,600 in PX Mart shopping vouchers. Lu promoted views of sunrise and sunset from the bridge, while Chiang identified tourism, closer industrial connections and everyday convenience as benefits of the project.

The walk and competition broadened the opening beyond a road ceremony. They drew attention to the crossing as a public place as well as a transport route, with the river landscape forming part of its appeal.

Rail cooperation is the next shared ambition

Lu and Wang both pointed to the proposed southern extension of Taichung's MRT Green Line into Changhua as another project on which their governments intend to cooperate. Wang said the partnership used to deliver the bridge offered a model for advancing the rail connection.

The bridge immediately changes a specific road journey, while the proposed MRT extension would give residents a public transport connection across the same administrative boundary. Wang connected closer transport links with easier access to schools, hospitals and jobs.

No construction start date or completion date for the MRT extension was announced at the bridge opening. For the road network, Chiang's stated priority was securing improvements to the surrounding connections. Residents now have the new river crossing, while those further transport projects remain the next ambitions identified by officials.

Key Points

• The Dadu Hemei Bridge opened on October 31, 2026, linking Taichung's Dadu District with Changhua County's Hemei Township.
• Officials expect the journey to fall from at least 30 minutes to about three minutes, removing a detour of more than 10 kilometres.
• The crossing has four traffic lanes, motorcycle facilities and a shared walking and cycling path.
• Local governments put the cost at approximately NT$3.3 billion. Central government grants supplied about NT$2.4 billion.
• Construction began in January 2023 and finished four months ahead of schedule, according to officials.
• Better access roads and the proposed MRT Green Line extension into Changhua are priorities for further cooperation.