Its name literally means "Central Expressway," and for much of its length it runs through mountainous terrain near the country's east-west center line, including the national parks of Chiaksan and Sobaeksan.

Officially, it is part of the Jungang Expressway, but some maps use this name for this section.

[1] The toll for a passenger car is 8,500 won, slightly less than the cost of a KTX ticket between the two cities.

Construction was completed in February 2006, at a total cost of slightly over 1 trillion won.

It was heavily supported by loans from the Korean Road Infrastructure Fund operated by Australia's Macquarie Bank.