MOLIT suspends expressway... > 경제기사 | economics

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport MOLIT suspended three expressway construction projects using the same construction method as the Seoul-Sejong expressway in Cheonan that resulted in 10 casualties and began safety verification work. Experts pointed out that construction procedures and management problems are more likely to be the cause of the accident than the construction method itself.

The MOLIT said on February 26 that it stopped all work at the construction sites applying the "DR Girder Launching Method" used at the Seoul-Sejong expressway in Cheonan. The plan is to resume the construction works after safety verification. A girder is a steel beam that is placed on top of bridge piers to support them. The construction method utilized to make girders is called DR Girder, and the method of installing girders on piers through special equipment called a launcher is called Launching Method.


The MOLIT believes that the collapse occurred when the launcher, a specialized equipment, placed the girder on the bridge and then withdrew, causing the girder to fall along with it. The ministry’s position is that both DR Girder and Launching Method are needed to go through safety verification. Currently, construction has been temporarily suspended on Jeongdong Bridge on a local road in Osong, Daeho Bridge in Dangjin, Daesan, and Hageumcheon Bridge in Hamyang.

The DR girder method is specialized to increase structural efficiency when the height of bridge piers is high and the distance between them is long. It was designated as a new construction technology in 2009 and has been widely used in the industry, ranked the most used method in 2016 and 2017.

Experts explained that the fact that the methods are recognized as new technologies and widely used makes it difficult to attribute them as the direct causes of the accident. Instead, they said, it is more likely that there was a lack of safety management or procedural errors during the construction process.

“Communication errors between the launcher driver and on-site workers may have been the cause,” said Lee Song-gyu, head of the Korea Association of Safety Professionals, adding, ”We should look into why such errors were not detected and corrected during the supervision stage.”

In April last year, a bridge collapse in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, was also blamed on negligence in the construction process and management rather than the construction method itself.

The Gyeonggi Southern Police Agency launched an investigation to determine the cause and responsibility for the accident, calling in officials from Hyundai Engineering, the construction company, and other companies involved in the construction.

The police reportedly focused on whether the DR Girder Launching Method used in the construction was carried out according to procedures, whether safety rules were followed, and whether worker training was adequate.

The 10 workers on the construction site at the time of the accident four dead and six injured were reportedly employed by either Jangheon Industry or Kangsan Development. All of the injured workers were seriously injured, so it is expected to take time to investigate them.

Kim Ji-hye, Kim Tae-hee

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