TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A proposal for an additional bridge in Taiwan’s outlying island province of Penghu will be discussed by residents on Oct. 19.

If built, the additional bridge will create a complete loop around Penghu’s three largest islands, LTN reported. Named Maxi Bridge (馬西大橋), the proposal would link Penghu’s Magong and Xihu townships and span about five kilometers in length.

A trip by car that currently takes about forty minutes would be reduced to about 10, local magistrate Chen Kuang-fu (陳光復) said. Chen said he has been in contact with Taiwan’s transportation minister, and hopes the central government will assist in getting the bridge built.

Chen noted that the county’s hard basalt base rock will make the bridge a difficult engineering challenge, but said learning from past experiences will help to overcome this problem. Further, the bridge would boost the local economy and narrow the gap between Penghu’s urban and rural areas, Chen said.

The local government will hold two briefing sessions next Thursday, which are both open to the public.

The approximate location of the proposed bridge is depicted with a dotted red line. (Taiwan News, Wikimedia Commons image)