Gwangju City Operates 24-Hour Pothole Emergency Repair Team During Thawing Season

Special Period Designated Until Next Month to Ensure Citizen Safety
122 km of Aged and Damaged Roads to Be Repaved in the First Half of the Year

Photo of pothole repair work. Provided by Gwangju City

Gwangju City announced on the 21st that it will designate the period from the 24th to the end of February as a special period and will officially operate a mobile repair team to prevent road subsidence (pothole) accidents.

A pothole is a depression in the road surface shaped like a pot, and when a vehicle drives over a sunken area, it can result in vehicle damage or even personal injury.

The Gwangju City General Construction Headquarters will operate an "Emergency Pothole Repair Mobile Team" consisting of up to six teams and 18 personnel, running 24 hours a day without distinction between day and night depending on the situation. Through this, the city plans to promptly repair simultaneously occurring potholes and thoroughly prevent accidents to ensure the safety of its citizens.

The number of potholes occurring on roads managed by Gwangju City with four or more lanes has been increasing every year, with 10,429 cases in 2022, 23,448 cases in 2023, and 33,822 cases in 2024. More than half of these cases occur during the thawing season from January to March.

Potholes can be reported by calling the Gwangju City Bitgoeul Call Center, the Road Management Team at the General Construction Headquarters, or by using the "Safety Sinmungo" app.

This year, the city plans to focus all efforts on permanent restoration work, including repaving approximately 122 km of road sections prone to frequent potholes across 18 routes such as Bitgoeul-daero and other small-scale pothole-prone areas throughout the city.

Shin Jaeuk, head of the General Construction Headquarters, said, "We will ensure the safety of citizens by operating the 24-hour pothole mobile repair team and quickly carrying out permanent restoration work," and added, "We will make proactive efforts to improve the road management system to minimize inconvenience for road users."

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