Gwangju Nam-gu Mayor Kim Byeong-nae and local residents inspect sewage facilities near Baegwun Square in preparation for heavy monsoon rains. June 23 [Provided by Gwangju Nam-gu. Redistribution and DB prohibited] <Yonhap>
Gwangju Nam-gu Mayor Kim Byeong-nae and local residents inspect sewage facilities near Baegwun Square in preparation for heavy monsoon rains. June 23 [Provided by Gwangju Nam-gu. Redistribution and DB prohibited]

The opening of the Baegwun Square underpass in Gwangju's Nam-gu has been pushed back to October.

The Gwangju Urban Railway Construction Headquarters said Friday that construction of the new Baegwun Square underpass — originally targeted for completion by the end of this month — will require an additional four months to finish installing electrical, telecommunications and fire safety systems.

The headquarters recently briefed Min Hyeong-bae, the mayor-elect of the proposed South Jeolla Province-Gwangju integrated special city, on the revised schedule. Min asked officials to review whether the underpass design can accommodate actual traffic volumes.

Construction of the new underpass began in earnest in October 2023, when the existing overpass was demolished, and has been proceeding alongside work on Urban Railway Line 2.

The original plan called for a single-direction, two-lane road along the 945-meter stretch from Nam Gwangju Agricultural Cooperative to Juwol Intersection — a section that overlaps with the underground railway corridor. The design was later changed to a two-lane, two-way configuration following opposition from residents.

The initial completion target was the end of last year, but the discovery of a massive rock formation underground near Baegwun Square delayed major work including civil engineering and infrastructure construction.

The headquarters had already pushed the opening back by about six months to the end of this month, but decided to delay further given conditions at the site.

The road above the Baegwun Square section of the Urban Railway Line 2 construction zone is expected to reopen around July 5 after finishing work including removal of temporary steel deck plates, asphalt paving and lane marking.


sij@heraldcorp.com