Traffic congestion is building up on highways heading toward Seoul on Seollal, the Lunar New Year’s Day, Tuesday.

According to the Korea Expressway Corporation on Tuesday, travel from Busan to Seoul will take nine hours and 40 minutes as of 1 p.m., compared with the usual four-and-a-half hour drive.

The usual three-and-a-half hour trip from southwestern Gwangju to the capital will take eight hours and 40 minutes, while the usual 90-minute drive from the central city of Daejeon will take four-and-a-half hours, and the usual three-hour travel time from the Gangneung on the east coast will take five hours and 40 minutes.

Traffic toward Seoul is expected to peak between 3 and 4 p.m. Tuesday, and wane after 3 a.m. Wednesday.

Meanwhile, traffic heading away from Seoul will be heaviest around 1 p.m., and ease around 9 p.m. Tuesday.

The highway authority estimates that about six-point-15 million vehicles will use highways nationwide on Tuesday, marking the peak traffic volume of the holiday period.