Seongnam City to Complete Maintenance of 17 Bridges over Tancheon by First Half of Next Year

Seongnam Jeongja Bridge Collapse Accident
[Image Source=Yonhap News]

Seongnam City in Gyeonggi Province has decided to complete the reconstruction of the sidewalks on 17 bridges over the Tancheon Stream, including Jeongja Bridge, by the first half of next year.

Seongnam City initially considered demolishing the sidewalks on both sides of the bridges and constructing new pedestrian bridges on both sides. However, after a comprehensive review, the plan was changed to maintain the current number of lanes while reducing the lane width to meet road facility standards, creating sidewalks on both sides of the existing roadway, constructing only one pedestrian bridge, and forming the opposite sidewalk within the lane, the city announced on the 11th.

According to the revised plan, 15 bridges will be reconstructed after sidewalk demolition based on the detailed safety inspection results conducted at the end of April.

Through structural review by the detailed safety inspection company, six bridges including Bang-a Bridge, Seohyeon Bridge, Dolma Bridge, Migeum Bridge, Sunae Bridge, and Gungnae Bridge will have their cantilever-structured sidewalks removed and sidewalks created on both sides of the roadway.

Additionally, nine bridges including Jeongja Bridge will have one side adjusted in lane width to create a sidewalk within the roadway, and a pedestrian bridge will be newly constructed only on the opposite side.

The pedestrian-only bridges, Singi Pedestrian Bridge and Baekgung Pedestrian Bridge, will have their cantilever sections on both sides removed and will continue to be used as is.

Cantilever-structured bridges have one end fixed while the other end is unsupported and suspended. This structure supports the sidewalk without installing separate piers beneath the pedestrian path, relying on attachment to the roadway.

Seongnam Mayor Shin Sang-jin explained, "For the bridges scheduled for sidewalk reconstruction, precast concrete (Precast Concrete) box culvert blocks are currently installed under the sidewalks to ensure safety, which shortens the construction period and reduces the budget by more than 50% from the original 161 billion KRW to 77 billion KRW, achieving a triple benefit."

Seongnam City plans to prioritize demolition work during the winter season after November, when the number of citizens using Tancheon Stream decreases due to the dry season, and aims to complete the bridge reconstruction by the first half of next year.

Furthermore, the city will make every effort to prevent safety accidents by fundamentally reviewing construction methods such as phasing out the cantilever method, strengthening safety inspections and diagnostics for aging facilities, and proposing institutional improvements.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the same day the investigation results and institutional improvement measures regarding the Jeongja Bridge pedestrian walkway collapse accident in Seongnam City that occurred in April, which resulted in two casualties.

The investigation revealed that the Jeongja Bridge collapse was caused by damage to the concrete due to infiltration of deicing agents and moisture, which weakened the reinforcement support, leading to the collapse.

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