'Bridge Top Expert' Jo Seong-il, Seoul Facilities Corporation Director, Efforts to Ensure PSC Bridge Safety

Aging Seoul PSC Bridge Management and Proactive Measures Utilizing Demolished Bridges...Corrosion Detected in Some Horizontal Structures Supporting the Deck During Safety Inspection of Cheongdam 1 Bridge, a PSC Bridge, in September Last Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Seoul Facilities Corporation (Chairman Seong-il Jo) is conducting a detailed inspection of PSC bridges that are being demolished due to the end of their service life, focusing on enhancing the safety of Seoul’s PSC bridges, which are entering a state of aging.

In particular, Chairman Seong-il Jo, regarded as the top bridge expert in Korea, is leading efforts to secure the stability of PSC bridges, drawing attention.

PSC (Pre-Stressed Concrete) bridges are structures where tendons made by bundling steel wires or rods into cables are tensioned to apply compressive force to the concrete structure in advance, thereby increasing load-bearing capacity. However, if the embedded tendons corrode or break, current technology finds it difficult to detect such issues.

In advanced countries such as Europe and the United States, aging PSC bridges built in the 1950s and 1960s have caused bridge collapses or serious damage, recognized as a national issue, prompting active inspections and repair reinforcements.

Seoul also owns various types of aging PSC bridges constructed since the 1970s, necessitating specialized inspection and maintenance plans.

Recently, the Seoul Facilities Corporation’s PSC Bridge Safety Team (TF), including Chairman Seong-il Jo, visited the Kaebong Overpass (PSC bridge) demolition site, where demolition is underway due to functional degradation as an elevated road caused by aging, under the Seoul Metropolitan Government (Urban Infrastructure Headquarters), and inspected the demolished girders and tendons.

At the Kaebong Overpass demolition site, detailed analysis was conducted on tendon anchorage and corrosion conditions, which are difficult to inspect while in service, and two demolished aged girders were secured for additional detailed investigation.

The girders secured this time will be used in the corporation’s ongoing ‘PSC Bridge Internal Tendon Investigation and Analysis Study.’

The corporation is currently conducting an academic project to establish ‘PSC Bridge Internal Tendon Health Assessment and Maintenance System,’ and plans to directly perform non-destructive testing, micro-destructive testing, and sampling tests on the girders obtained from Kaebong Overpass to conduct detailed investigations and research to identify tendon voids and corrosion.

Meanwhile, since Chairman Seong-il Jo’s inauguration, Seoul Facilities Corporation has been making various efforts to enhance PSC bridge safety. First, over about 1 year and 8 months, a total of 20 sessions of PSC Bridge Open Innovation have been held to find maintenance alternatives for PSC bridges.

Also, since October last year, a ‘PSC Bridge Safety Task Force (TF)’ has been formed, working with external experts in bridge management, including the Korean Society of Bridge and Structural Engineering and the Korean Concrete Institute, striving to produce valuable outcomes for PSC bridge safety management.

Recently, the corporation’s efforts to improve PSC bridge safety have also yielded results. In September last year, during a safety inspection of the PSC bridge Cheongdam 1 Bridge, some of the transverse structures supporting the bridge deck were found to be corroded.

Accordingly, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seoul Facilities Corporation actively shared information through media reports, websites, and SNS, and urgently restricted heavy vehicle traffic on Cheongdam 1 Bridge.

Furthermore, based on accumulated knowledge and experience, the corporation confirmed the bridge’s safety status and resumed heavy vehicle traffic on November 9, about two months later.

Chairman Jo Seong-il (center in the photo) and the PSC Bridge Safety Task Force are visiting the Gaebong Overpass, which is currently being dismantled, to inspect the bridge.

The Cheongdam 1 Bridge (PSCI) case is significant as it was the first domestic instance of confirming bridge safety through micro-destructive testing while the bridge was in service.

Seong-il Jo, Chairman of Seoul Facilities Corporation, stated, “We plan to calmly and proactively respond by joining forces with academic societies, research institutions, and diagnostic agencies to enhance citizens’ safety. In particular, we aim to contribute to the development of PSC bridge maintenance technology by widely sharing the related knowledge, experience, and know-how that the corporation is building with domestic and international organizations.”

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