A pedestrian overpass over a stream in southwestern Seoul remains partially collapsed in a file photo taken on Jan. 3, 2023. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — The Seoul city government said Tuesday it will strengthen safety management for small bridges and tunnels, following some recent accidents at those facilities.
The city government has so far carried out precision safety inspections and maintenance only for large-scale facilities, such as bridges over the Han River, while small-scale road facilities and bridges have been subject to lower-level, regular inspections.
As a result, small-scale road facilities have been placed in a managerial blind spot, as seen in last month’s collapse of a 6 1/2-year-old pedestrian overpass in southwestern Seoul.
The overpass connecting Dorim-dong of Yeongdeungpo Ward and Sindorim Station had undergone regular safety inspections twice a year but collapsed on Jan. 3, only two weeks after its last regular inspection.
The city government said small-scale road facilities and bridges, such as the Dorim-dong overpass, will now be subject to precision safety inspections.
Taking a lesson from a recent expressway noise-barrier tunnel fire on the southern outskirts of Seoul that killed five people and injured 41 others, the city government plans to replace flammable construction materials at eight noise-barrier tunnels in the capital with nonflammable materials by early next year.
(Yonhap)
