Naju City to Restrict Access to Two Najucheon Bridges Starting Next Month on the 6th

Naju City in Jeollanam-do announced on the 22nd that starting from the 6th of next month, traffic will be restricted on two bridges, ‘Namnae1 Saemaeulgyo’ and ‘Namnae Pedestrian Bridge,’ as well as their access roads, for the reconstruction of bridges included in the ‘Najucheon Ecological Waterway’ project.

The 'Namnae 1 Saemaeul Bridge' and 'Namnae Pedestrian Bridge' sections of the Najucheon Ecological Waterway Project.
[Photo by Naju City]

The city plans to minimize inconvenience to citizens by opening a temporary pedestrian bridge and providing detour guidance during the bridge closures.

The bridge restrictions are measures in line with the Najucheon Ecological Waterway project, a key initiative of the 8th local government administration, as well as flood prevention and maintenance of the collector sewer system.

The reconstruction work on the bridges is scheduled to begin within this month, aiming for completion in June.

The Najucheon Ecological Waterway project, a priority agenda of the 8th local government administration, focuses on enhancing flood control functions such as securing flood capacity for a 100-year frequency flood and turning Najucheon, which runs through the original downtown area of Naju, into a tourist attraction through water quality and ecological restoration.

This project combines three initiatives: the Ministry of Environment-led ‘Najucheon Ecological River Restoration,’ ‘Naju Public Sewage Treatment Plant Inflow Collector Sewer Maintenance,’ and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety-led ‘Najucheon Flood and Disaster Living Zone Comprehensive Maintenance.’

The groundbreaking ceremony was held in December last year, with a total project cost of 93.7 billion KRW and a target completion year of 2025.

The city is accelerating urban stream ecological restoration linked to revitalizing tourism in the original downtown area, including ‘aquatic ecological restoration’ along a 3.36 km section of Najucheon, ‘riffle-type fishways and fish habitats restoration,’ and ‘stepping stone walking paths creation.’

Alongside ecological restoration, the project also includes ‘excavation of the riverbed (about 2m) to secure flood capacity for a 100-year frequency flood,’ ‘expansion of drainage pump stations and retention basins,’ ‘reconstruction and new construction of 11 river bridges (2 new),’ ‘improvement of aging collector sewers (L=3.04 km),’ ‘revetment maintenance (L=3.21 km),’ and ‘improvement of 137 manholes and stormwater chambers.’

Since the start of construction, work has begun on the Cheongdong drainage pump station section in March 2023, installation of grass blocks at the Gyeonghyeon-dong multipurpose ecological plaza in August, and construction on the section from the school (bridge) to the confluence with the Yeongsan River.

Mayor Yoon Byung-tae stated, “We will strive to ensure the safety management of the temporary pedestrian bridge to avoid inconvenience to citizens and vehicles during the bridge reconstruction,” and added, “We will do our best to promote the project so that Najucheon can become not only a natural disaster prevention function but also an ecological river where the city, nature, and people coexist, and a scenic spot where people want to walk.”

Naju = Kim Yukbong, Honam Reporting Headquarters, Asia Economy baekok@asiae.co.kr

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