Seoul Facilities Corporation Conducts Safety Inspections During Thawing Season with Drones... Inspects 166 Sites Including Bridges and Tunnels

Utilizing Drones and Smart Devices for Visual Inspection of Bridge Sides and Tunnel Walls Difficult to Check with the Naked Eye

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Facilities Corporation announced on the 1st that it conducted safety inspections using advanced smart equipment at 166 locations, including bridges, overpasses, and tunnels on Seoul's automobile-only roads such as Olympic-daero and Gangbyeonbuk-ro, in preparation for the spring thaw season.

The thaw inspection, carried out from mid-February to the end of March, targeted road facilities vulnerable to freezing and thawing processes. The inspection focused on areas such as concrete spalling where concrete partially detaches along cracks, and the erosion of structural foundation parts like pillars.

Due to the risk of worker accidents, smart equipment such as drones was used to inspect the top and bottom sides of bridge decks (slabs) and tunnel ceilings. This measure aimed to enhance the effectiveness of the inspection while reducing the risk of serious accidents. The corporation carefully checked for concrete spalling on the outer sides of Dongjak Bridge and Dongjak 2 Bridge on Olympic-daero, as well as for any detachment or leakage in drainage pipes.

The corporation determined that there are walking paths and crosswalks beneath the bridge concrete spalling risk areas identified by drones, which could potentially lead to safety accidents for passing citizens. Therefore, it plans to install protective nets in April and sequentially carry out maintenance on the risk factors identified during this thaw safety inspection according to their urgency.

Meanwhile, alongside the safety inspection, the corporation also pilot-applied state-of-the-art smart equipment selected through a technology sharing platform to detect cracks in tunnel walls and ceilings. A vehicle equipped with a high-performance camera and radar scanning function drove at 50 km/h, capturing high-resolution images to detect cracks. The inspection was conducted on the Banghwa Tunnel, and the corporation plans to expand the application after analyzing the advantages and disadvantages, such as the ability to inspect without vehicle control.

Jeon Ki-sung, Acting Director of the corporation, stated, “Smart inspections using advanced equipment minimize blind spots and excel in speed, so we plan to expand their application.” He added, “We will continue to discover and apply measures that can enhance the safety of not only on-site workers but also citizens using the facilities.”

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