Collaboration Body of 15 Domestic Road Management Agencies
Addressing Aging Infrastructure Issues... Launching Full-Scale Efforts Including National R&D and Support for Private Sector Innovative Technology Development
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul Facilities Corporation announced on the 14th that it will hold the 1st regular meeting of the Road Infrastructure Alliance.
In this meeting, 15 organizations including the Corporation, which manages Seoul's exclusive automobile roads, Korea Expressway Corporation, Korea Infrastructure Safety & Technology Corporation, the Korean Society of Civil Engineers, and Seoul National University gathered online to strengthen the collaboration system and discuss measures for establishing and developing an aged road management system, including major accident prevention, SOC (Social Overhead Capital) digitalization, and PSC bridge technology improvement.
Previously, the Road Infrastructure Alliance was selected as the main body of the "Advanced Infrastructure Management Technology Development Project," which involves a national budget investment of 25.6 billion KRW, and is preparing for full-scale operation. This project aims to enhance the safety of rapidly aging infrastructure and maximize sustainability. The Korea Infrastructure Safety & Technology Corporation is in charge of overall supervision and will carry out the project over five years. The focus will be on performance evaluation and future performance prediction of infrastructure, as well as the development of advanced infrastructure management systems. This is expected to be the main activity of the Alliance.
Since the formation of the Road Infrastructure Alliance last year, the Corporation has been working to identify the technologies needed in road management sites and share them with the private sector to act as a catalyst for development, as well as provide a testbed essential for verifying the performance of technologies, thereby enabling the development of related technologies through openness and sharing. Recently, a national R&D project conducted by the Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement, titled "Tunnel Crack Measurement Technology Using Video and Radar Scanning," has been pilot-applied to roads managed by the Corporation to analyze its effectiveness.
Meanwhile, through the Road Infrastructure Alliance, the Corporation plans to strive for the establishment of more efficient road management policies, while also promoting social consensus on the issue of aging infrastructure by producing and sharing videos, launching educational programs for university students, and holding a "Citizen Slogan Contest on the Importance of Aging Infrastructure Management."
Jeon Ki-seong, Acting President of the Corporation, said, "Aging infrastructure poses a potential risk threatening citizen safety, so continuous technological exchange among related organizations is necessary for stable management," and added, "Starting with road infrastructure, we will work hard to prepare comprehensive and proactive measures for the systematic management of all facilities managed by the Corporation."
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