Com.293 Completion of National Highway Number Three Commemorative Issue

Following on the issuance of the “Inauguration of Taiwan’s Second Northern Freeway” in August 1997 and the “Inauguration of Taiwan’s Second Southern Freeway” in February 2000, Chunghwa Post Co. Ltd. is issuing a pair of commemorative stamps and a miniature sheet on the “Completion of National Highway Number Three.” The stamps and the miniature sheet will be released on January 8, 2004.

When the Sun Yat-sen Freeway was fully opened to traffic in 1978, it started a new phase of road transportation in Taiwan. However, with the continuous growth of the nation’s economy, the Sun Yat-sen Freeway can no longer accommodate the rapid growth of traffic. To alleviate some of its traffic load, the Executive Yuan approved a plan to build a second northern freeway in 1984, which was completed and opened to traffic in 1997. In 1987, the Executive Yuan approved a follow up plan for a second freeway, for which construction started in 1993. Sections of the freeway were completed and opened to traffic one after another beginning in 2000, and the whole freeway was completed in 2003. The construction of the whole project, one of the largest transportation projects in the history of Taiwan, took 16 years.

The designs of the stamps follow:
(1) Jhonggang Interchange (NT$5): This interchange is located in Cingshuei Township, Taichung County. The indirect cloverleaf design allows for fluid traffic and a high degree of safety. With a differential in height from the ground, this elevated construction made use of bridge structures with the main route placed on the top level. With its clean-cut style and the loop layout of its ramps, the construction looks elegant and the traffic is rhythmic. Apart from making the nation’s freeway network more lively, this interchange has also brought prosperity to the greater Taichung area.
(2) Cingshuei Service Area (NT$25): This service area is located at about the 172 kilometer mark of the National Highway Number 3. Covering 13.8 hectares, it is the freeway’s largest service area and Taiwan’s only service area to offer a view of the sea. The construction is a combination of simple geometric design and organic elements, which express a modern architectural vocabulary. Sitting on the hillside of Mount Dadu in Cingshuei Township, the service area looks like a shimmering pearl.
(3) The miniature sheet offers a bird’s-eye view of the whole Cingshuei Service Area.

(1) First Day Cover in small size to be sold at NT$2.00 apiece.
First Day Cover in large size to be sold at NT$3.00 apiece.
(2) Folder especially prepared for the stamps to be sold at NT$5.00 apiece.
(3) Folder with crystal mount for better protection of the stamps to be sold at NT$5.00 apiece.
Folder with crystal mount for better protection of the souvenir sheet to be sold at NT$8.00 apiece.
(4) Loose-leaf stamp album page with plastic cover to be sold at NT$16.00 apiece.
(5) Pre-cancelled First Day Cover affixed with a low-valued stamp to be sold at NT$7.00 apiece.
(6) Pre-cancelled First Day Cover affixed with a complete set of stamps to be sold at NT$32.00 apiece.
(7) Pre-cancelled First Day Cover affixed with a miniature sheet to be sold at NT$23.00 apiece.
(8) Pictorial-Completion of National Highway Number Three Postage Stamps to be sold at NT$290.00 apiece.