As the pedestrian overpass near Sindorim Station in Seoul collapsed and restricted traffic, Yeongdeungpo-gu formed an accident investigation committee on the 4th to launch a detailed investigation.
According to Yeongdeungpo-gu on the same day, at 1:40 am on the 3rd, the Dorim Pedestrian Bridge connecting Dorim-dong and Sindorim Station in Yeongdeungpo-gu collapsed, and the lower overpass and bicycle lanes were completely checked.
After police received a 112 alert and investigated the site, it was confirmed that the iron support and railing supporting the flyover were partially damaged. Fortunately no casualties occurred.
Dorim Pedestrian Overpass is a pedestrian bridge with a width of 2.5m and a length of 104.6m that connects Dorim-dong and Sindorim Station across the Dorimcheon. It is a pillarless arch shape in a lattice structure made by weaving steel materials into triangles. Construction began in April 2015 at a cost of 2.8 billion won and opened in late May 2016.
The overpass collapsed six years and seven months after it opened.
However, just a few days ago, it received a “grade A” (no abnormality) in the second half of the regular safety inspection, raising suspicions of poor inspection.
The Dorimbo Overpass is a third class facility which undergoes regular security inspections twice a year.
However, after 15 days, on December 31 last year, it was found that a report had been received on the website of the security newspaper of the Ministry of Public Administration and Security that said, “There is a deformation in the appearance of the overpass and you suspect that there is a security problem”.
The contents of the report were delivered to the Yeongdeungpo-gu office around 4:30 pm on the 2nd, but the district office manager checked the documents after 6:00 pm and did not appear to have taken any special action. A precinct official said: “It was getting dark and I got an A grade on my safety inspection last month and there seemed to be nothing wrong with the photos.”
Yeongdeungpo-gu plans to form an accident investigation committee with 11 people, including civil engineering experts, to conduct a detailed investigation starting on the 5th. The plan is to decide whether to demolish or repair through an investigation. A district official said, “We will be installing temporary supports to prevent further collapses and ensure safety inspections are being conducted properly.”
Since the 3rd, the district has been guiding residents using the Dorimbo flyover to divert to the Sindorim bridge for the safety of the residents. It takes approximately 2 minutes (180m) for users of the flyover to detour on foot to the Sindorim Bridge. The bicycle lanes and footpaths under Dorimcheon stream are fully controlled, so you can use diversion roads such as Sindorim Bridge.
[서울=뉴시스]
