The Road Bombs After the Monsoon, 'Potholes'... Now Managed Digitally

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] The government plans to focus on repairing potholes that have appeared across roads immediately after the monsoon season and establish a digital management system to prevent their recurrence.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 20th that it designated the week starting from the 13th as the "Pothole Intensive Patrol and Management Period," instructing road management authorities nationwide to promptly carry out pothole repairs.

Potholes occur when continuous rainwater seeps into old asphalt surfaces, causing ground weakening and asphalt deformation. When vehicle loads are applied, the asphalt shifts, creating sunken potholes.

According to the "Pothole Occurrence Status" data from Seoul City on the 20th, a total of 7,071 potholes were reported within ten days from the 1st to the 10th, during which heavy rain poured in Seoul. This is 1.5 times the average number of potholes occurring in August over the past ten years, which was 4,829. It is also more than double the 3,149 potholes reported last month.

The Ministry plans to transition the management system to a digital platform to efficiently manage the annually recurring potholes and minimize damage. This includes automating pothole repair work management using smart applications, digitizing occurrence statistics, and implementing AI detection.

Additionally, a detailed work management manual for faster and more thorough pothole repairs was prepared, circulated in advance on the 12th, and distributed to each road management authority on the 20th.

The Ministry, in consultation with related organizations such as the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, Seoul City, and the Road Society, developed the "Digitalization of Pothole Management" plan and the "Repair Management Manual." Through this, the government aims to ▲ enable road managers to automatically register pothole locations and repair records by taking photos via a dedicated app and build a frequent occurrence tracking map ▲ analyze road cracks and potholes more quickly and conveniently through AI-based automatic detection and apply customized repair methods proactively ▲ present pothole size standards and provide a management manual detailing specific patrol and repair methods to ensure systematic statistical management and repairs.

Oh Sooyoung, Director of the Road Management Division at the Ministry, said, "The digital transformation of pothole management will improve road safety and promote new technological advancements, becoming a driving force for the Korean New Deal."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.