# Central Cross-Island Highway Control｜KOM Route Hours｜24EZGO

> The KOM route to Wuling crosses a construction control zone on Highway 8. The Tianxiang to Taroko section opens in five short windows a day, the Guanyuan to Tianxiang section is two-way in daylight, and the whole road closes overnight. Hours, waiting points and support vehicle rules.

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Guides · Cycling in Taiwan

# Road Control on the KOM Route: When the Highway Opens and Why You Cannot Ride at Night

By [Sean (seh STUDIO)](/en/about/) · Updated 2026-09-14

The east approach to Wuling, the Taiwan KOM Challenge course starting in Hualien, runs through a construction control zone on Highway 8\. The road is open, not severed, but when you can pass and for how long is set by published time slots, and the two halves of the zone follow completely different rules. This page lays out the hours in the September 2026 notice, the waiting points along the way, and the same restrictions your support vehicle is under, so you know which plans are simply not possible before you build an itinerary.

[Highway 14A right now ↓](#road-live-title)

Racing up Wuling and need a transfer or a race-day support vehicle? Start with the service page and the rates.

[Race SAG Support · See the matching service →](/en/services/race-support/)[See rates →](/en/pricing/)[Go to Online Inquiry →](/en/?ask=1&svc=2#contact)

![Road cyclists on the Central Cross-Island Highway cut into the cliff face of Taroko Gorge](/images/guides/kom-road-control/taroko-cliff-road.webp)

Through Taroko Gorge the highway is cut straight into the cliff. This entire stretch sits inside the construction control zone, and when you can pass is set by the published windows.

## The Single Most Important Point: You Cannot Ride This Road at Night

The construction control zone on Highway 8 closes completely from 18:30 until 06:30 the next morning. You will occasionally see the suggestion that waiting for daytime slots is a hassle so it is easier to ride at night. Under the current notice that does not work. The road is fully closed after dark, and your support vehicle cannot get in either.

Before that there is a clearing period: 18:00 to 18:30 on the eastern section (Tianxiang to the Taroko entrance) and 16:30 to 18:30 on the western section (Guanyuan to Tianxiang). During those windows the zone is exit-only. In practice this means you must be past Guanyuan by 16:30, or you are not getting up the mountain that day.

## Two Sections, Two Sets of Rules, Do Not Merge Them Into One Table

The notice treats the highway as two separate sections with very different rules. The eastern half is a case of only a few minutes being usable; the western half is open all day but with waiting points along the route. Reading the two sets of hours as one schedule is the fastest way to build an itinerary that cannot work.

The eastern section has five release windows a day. Two of them, 10:00 to 10:05 and 15:00 to 15:05, are only five minutes long. In practice only the 90-minute window at 06:30 and the two hour-long windows at midday and early evening are worth planning around.

__Highway 8 construction control (September 2026 notice)__
| Section                                             | Daytime access                                                                      | Clearing (exit only) | Overnight             |
| --------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------- | --------------------- |
| East: Tianxiang to Taroko entrance (km 167.7-184.5) | Five windows daily: 06:30-08:00, 10:00-10:05, 12:00-13:00, 15:00-15:05, 17:00-18:00 | 18:00-18:30          | Closed 18:30 to 06:30 |
| West: Guanyuan to Tianxiang (km 114.6-167.1)        | Two-way 06:30-16:30 (with construction points en route)                             | 16:30-18:30          | Closed 18:30 to 06:30 |

## The Western Section Is Open in Daylight, but There Are Four Waiting Points

The western section is two-way, so you do not have to catch a window for the section as a whole. But there are four separate construction points along it, each releasing traffic on its own schedule. Allow extra time for waiting, and accept that the total cannot be calculated precisely.

Note that the five windows at Huoranting are not the same as the five on the eastern section: the 09:45 and 14:45 slots each differ by 15 minutes. The two tables look alike and must not be used interchangeably.

__Construction waiting points on the western section__
| Location                  | Highway 8 | Release schedule                                                                                    |
| ------------------------- | --------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Huoranting (near Luoshao) | km 157.7  | Five windows during works 2-24 Sep: 06:30-08:00, 09:45-10:25, 12:00-13:00, 14:45-15:25, 17:00-18:00 |
| Hualu Creek (near Cien)   | km 147    | Timed to match the five windows at the Tianxiang end                                                |
| Guanyuan                  | km 116.5  | Released roughly once an hour                                                                       |
| Dayuling                  | km 112.6  | Released roughly once an hour                                                                       |

## Route Profile: Which Climb Falls Under Which Rule

From Qixingtan the first 25 kilometres are almost flat; the real climbing starts at the Taroko entrance. From 60 metres above sea level to 3,275 metres at Wuling, the route gains over 3,200 metres in 78 kilometres. The two background colours below match the two control regimes described above.

Laying the terrain over the control makes one thing obvious: the heaviest climbing, Tianxiang up to Dayuling, sits entirely inside the western section, and that section has no single release window to wait for, only four separate construction points along the way.

![Elevation profile from Hualien to Wuling marking where the eastern and western control sections fall](/images/guides/kom-road-control/elevation-profile.webp)

The red band is the eastern section with five daily windows; the amber band is the western section, two-way in daylight with waiting points. After Dayuling the route joins Highway 14A to Wuling, outside the scope of this notice.

## Can You Still Do It in One Day Under These Rules

Yes, but there is only one way to do it: take the first 06:30 window at the Taroko entrance, use those 90 minutes to clear Tianxiang, ride the western section through the day, and be past Guanyuan before 16:30\. After Dayuling you join Highway 14A to Wuling, which is outside the scope of this notice.

There is not much margin in that plan. Tianxiang to Guanyuan climbs close to 1,900 metres and you still have to absorb the waiting time at four construction points. If you are not confident about that, or you would rather not have the whole day dictated by the clock, there are two alternatives: enter on the 17:00-18:00 window and stay overnight at Tianxiang, then start at 06:30 with a full day ahead of you; or switch to the western approach from Puli, which avoids this control entirely.

Your support vehicle is under the same control and cannot follow you freely. This is the part people most often overlook when planning: the vehicle cannot be where you need it when you need it, so supplies and spares have to be distributed in advance.

## This Page Will Go Out of Date: Two Things We Have Not Confirmed

Control hours are published month by month. Everything on this page comes from the September 2026 notice, and the Huoranting windows only run to 24 September. If your trip falls in October or later, look up that month and do not reuse this page.

One more thing we have not verified: we did not find any exemption for bicycles or slow vehicles in the text of the notice. Some controlled sections treat slow vehicles differently from cars, but until that is confirmed with the authority, plan on the assumption that bicycles are controlled the same as cars.

Checking again a week before departure is the cheapest insurance. The sources we use are listed below.

## Highway 14A right now

The notices and camera images below are fetched from the highway authority when you open this page, with notices lagging by ten minutes at most. Monthly statistics only give you odds. Checking here the night before and again at dawn tells you far more.

### Live notices from the highway authority

* [Live notices could not be loaded. Check Highway 14A directly on the highway authority 168 traffic site.](https://168.thb.gov.tw/)

Data time Notices are shown in the original Chinese as published by the highway authority.

### Live cameras

![Wuling (14A 31K+500)](https://cctv-ss04.thb.gov.tw:443/T14A-31K+500/snapshot)

Wuling 14A 31K+500

![Hehuanshan Visitor Centre (14A 32K+781)](https://cctv-ss04.thb.gov.tw:443/T14A-32K+781/snapshot)

Hehuanshan Visitor Centre 14A 32K+781

![Kunyang (14A 29K+200)](https://cctv-ss04.thb.gov.tw:443/T14A-29K+200/snapshot)

Kunyang 14A 29K+200

![Dayuling (14A 41K+700)](https://cctv-ss01.thb.gov.tw:443/T14A-041K+700/snapshot)

Dayuling 14A 41K+700

Still frames from highway authority cameras. Reload the page for the latest one. Dark images at night are normal.  
Data from the MOTC TDX platform and highway authority cameras

![A road cyclist crossing a bridge on the Central Cross-Island Highway with an inscribed retaining wall behind](/images/guides/kom-road-control/zhongheng-bridge.webp)

Much of the highway runs along single-lane bridges and retaining walls like this. When a window opens, vehicles and bikes move through together as one group.

![Three road cyclists climbing Highway 14A past a sign for Hehuanshan, Wushe and Puli](/images/guides/kom-road-control/highway-14a-climb.webp)

Highway 14A heading for Hehuanshan. The western approach to Wuling uses this road and never enters either controlled section.

## FAQ

Is the eastern Central Cross-Island Highway closed?

No. The road is open; what applies is time-based construction control. It opens in published windows during the day and closes completely from 18:30 to 06:30.

Can I ride at night to avoid the control?

No. From 18:30 to 06:30 the whole section is closed, which is stricter than the daytime rules, and support vehicles cannot get in either.

Can the support vehicle follow the rider the whole way?

Not inside the control zone. The support vehicle is held to the same release windows as the bike and has to enter and leave with the same group, so it cannot appear at any point at any time. Supplies and spares need to be distributed in advance.

Is there another way up Wuling that avoids the control?

Yes. The western approach starts in Puli, Nantou, and uses Highways 14 and 14A, avoiding both controlled sections entirely. The trade-off is that it is not the Taiwan KOM race course and it does not pass through Taroko Gorge.

## Sources

* [交通部公路局｜太魯閣路段施工管制公告](https://www.thb.gov.tw/)
* [公路防救災資訊系統（168）｜即時封閉與管制查詢](https://168.thb.gov.tw/)
* [太魯閣國家公園管理處｜園區路況公告](https://www.taroko.gov.tw/)
* [Taiwan KOM Challenge｜賽道資料](https://taiwankom.org/)

Rules and road conditions change — always check the official announcements before you travel.

## Related guides

* [Wuling Hehuanshan Cycling｜Taiwan's Highest Road, 3,275m](/en/guides/wuling-hehuanshan-climb/)
* [When to Ride Wuling Month by Month, and What 3,275 m Means Where You Come From](/en/guides/wuling-when-to-go/)
* [Taiwan Twin Towers 520: Support Vehicles, Checkpoints, and What to Know](/en/guides/taiwan-twin-towers/)

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