Lee Je-seok, head of public-interest advertising firm Lee Je-seok Advertising Lab, said Wednesday he had staged a guerrilla campaign at the point where a step gap formed on the southern approach ramp of Seongsu Bridge, calling for a precise investigation into the stability of the ground beneath the road. A printout of an X-ray image of a human body lying horizontally is affixed to the cracked step-gap area on the southern end of Seongsu Bridge. [Provided by Lee Je-seok Advertising Lab]
Lee Je-seok, head of public-interest advertising firm Lee Je-seok Advertising Lab, said Wednesday he had staged a guerrilla campaign at the point where a step gap formed on the southern approach ramp of Seongsu Bridge, calling for a precise investigation into the stability of the ground beneath the road. A printout of an X-ray image of a human body lying horizontally is affixed to the cracked step-gap area on the southern end of Seongsu Bridge. [Provided by Lee Je-seok Advertising Lab]

Concerns about the safety of Seoul's bridges are growing after a step gap was discovered on the approach ramp to Dongjak Bridge, following a similar defect found earlier at Seongsu Bridge.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Saturday that a comprehensive inspection of bridge sections across the city found a step gap of about 8 centimeters on the ramp leading to the northern end of Dongjak Bridge.

The citywide inspection was prompted by a controversy over a step gap on the Seongsu Bridge approach ramp that surfaced last month. A step gap of about 9 centimeters had been found on the southern approach ramp of Seongsu Bridge, drawing a wave of citizen reports. The gap ran from the concrete barriers on both sides of the ramp to the edges of the bridge deck. Some residents raised concerns that the cause should be thoroughly examined, invoking the 1994 Seongsu Bridge collapse, which killed and injured 49 people. Experts said at the time that even a gap of 1 to 2 centimeters would be cause for concern and that a detailed safety assessment should be considered.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said the step gap at Seongsu Bridge had remained unchanged at 8.9 to 9 centimeters across every detailed safety inspection from 2016 through this year, and that on-site checks found no signs of progressive displacement such as further subsidence. The city attributed the gap to differing foundation types between the main bridge structure and the retaining wall of the approach ramp, which produced varying degrees of long-term settlement, and maintained there was no structural safety problem. However, as public anxiety persisted, the city launched a detailed safety inspection alongside a comprehensive survey of all bridges in the city.

The step gap newly confirmed at the Dongjak Bridge approach ramp also occurred not on the elevated main bridge span but on a road section resting on soil and a retaining wall — the same structural characteristic as the Seongsu Bridge defect. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said the risk of collapse is low given this structural nature.

The city is conducting a comprehensive inspection of bridge sections across Seoul to address public concern over the step gap at the Seongsu Bridge approach ramp, and plans to announce its findings and any countermeasures as soon as the survey is complete.


why37@heraldcorp.com