Construction of the Central Cross-Island Highway began on July 7 1956. The 277 kilometers of road was finally ready on April 29, 1960, after nearly four years of backbreaking labor, and it opened to traffic on May 9 of the same year.
民國四十五年七月七日，中部橫貫公路正式開工，歷經三年九個多月的艱苦施工，終於在民國四十九年四月二十五日，完成總長二百七十七公里的中橫公路，並於同年五月九日正式通車。