Daejeon City to Completely Demolish and Rebuild Yudeunggyo Bridge... Temporary Bridge to Be Completed in Second Half of Year

Three Years Needed for Temporary Bridge, Demolition, and Reconstruction... To Proceed Alongside Tram Project
Mayor Lee Jangwoo Says, "We Ask for Citizens' Understanding... Will Expedite the Project"

Lee Jangwoo, Mayor of Daejeon, is announcing the plan to rebuild Yudeunggyo Bridge on the 1st. / Daejeon Photo by Park Jongmyung

Daejeon City announced that it will completely demolish and reconstruct the Yudeunggyo Bridge, whose deck has subsided due to heavy rainfall.

On the 1st, Mayor Lee Jangwoo held a city briefing and said, "We will completely demolish and reconstruct Yudeunggyo Bridge," adding, "Since the full closure of Yudeunggyo Bridge is causing severe traffic congestion and inconvenience, we will first install a temporary bridge as an alternative facility."

After the subsidence of Yudeunggyo Bridge, the city conducted an emergency detailed safety inspection, which identified serious defects such as ongoing displacement in the uneven settlement area of the foundation.

Accordingly, although a detailed safety diagnosis will be conducted to make a final determination on the structural safety, a comprehensive review of expert opinions and site conditions led to the conclusion that reconstruction of Yudeunggyo Bridge is the optimal solution.

The city expects that the reconstruction of Yudeunggyo Bridge will take about three years, so it has decided to prioritize the construction of a temporary bridge as an alternative route to minimize inconvenience for citizens.

The temporary bridge will be constructed by separating the upstream and downstream lanes over the Yudeungcheon stream, securing six lanes for vehicles as well as pedestrian and bicycle paths, taking into account site conditions and workspaces needed for reconstruction.

The project is scheduled for completion in the second half of this year, considering various administrative procedures and design periods, and is estimated to cost about 10 billion KRW.

Daejeon Yudeunggyo Bridge with a sunken deck due to heavy rain / Daejeon City

The newly constructed bridge to replace Yudeunggyo Bridge will be promoted in parallel with the construction of Urban Railway Line 2. During the design process, the optimal bridge type will be determined through thorough review of economic feasibility, constructability, and aesthetics, as well as gathering expert opinions. The project cost is estimated at about 40 billion KRW, including approximately 17.8 billion KRW that was previously allocated for the tram project.

The city will also improve management regulations so that detailed safety inspections, which are currently only required for first-class facilities, will become mandatory for second-class and lower facilities like Yudeunggyo Bridge. Criteria for designating key management targets will be established, and regular riverbed surveys will be conducted.

In addition, old bridges over 20 years old within the three major rivers will undergo priority safety inspections by next month, and any identified risks will be addressed as a top priority.

Mayor Lee Jangwoo of Daejeon said, "We sincerely apologize to citizens for the inconvenience caused by the full closure of Yudeunggyo Bridge," and added, "We will protect Daejeon's safety through the swift implementation of this project."