Gyeonggi-do Promotes 'Seismic Performance Reinforcement' for Small Earthquake-Vulnerable Bridges

Seismic Reinforcement Design for 33 Sites Urgently Requiring Repair and Strengthening

Gyeonggi Provincial Government Northern Office

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] Gyeonggi Province is promoting the creation of earthquake-safe bridges by conducting seismic performance evaluations on small-scale bridge structures.

According to the province on the 11th, bridge structures are classified under the "Special Act on the Safety and Maintenance of Facilities" as follows: large-scale structures over 500m are classified as "Type 1," medium-scale structures over 100m as "Type 2," and small-scale structures under 100m as "Type 3."

Since 2008, the government has revised regulations to mandate seismic reinforcement for existing bridge facilities and amended related laws to include Type 3 structures in the mandatory detailed safety inspections alongside Types 1 and 2. However, Type 3 small-scale bridge facilities remain vulnerable to earthquakes due to aging and other factors.

Accordingly, the province conducted seismic performance evaluations on a total of 61 sites and plans to proceed with the design for seismic reinforcement on 33 sites identified as needing reinforcement.

This year, the province secured a budget for seismic performance evaluations on 18 sites and is actively preparing to promptly commence work by prioritizing based on the urgency of repairs and reinforcements.

Lee Seong-hoon, Director of the Construction Bureau, stated, "Bridges are important road facilities, and unexpected disasters such as earthquakes pose a significant threat to the safety of residents and cause substantial social and economic losses. We will do our best to create a safe and convenient road environment to prevent such incidents in advance."

Previously, as part of proactive measures to ensure the safety of bridge structures, the province has been independently conducting seismic performance evaluations on Type 3 small-scale bridge structures since 2020.

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