At around 12:10 PM on the 28th, a pedestrian bridge next to Gwangsin Bridge in Deokheung-dong, Seo-gu, Gwangju was found collapsed, and traffic has been restricted. Photo by Yonhap News
The collapse of the pedestrian walkway next to Gwangsin Bridge in Gwangju was found to have occurred when one of several connecting ramps became detached from the structure.
According to the Gwangju City General Construction Headquarters on December 28, the collapse of the pedestrian walkway connected to Gwangsin Bridge in Yuchon-dong, Seo-gu, Gwangju, was not caused by the main body of the bridge itself, but rather by a connecting ramp-a structural component of the pedestrian walkway-that fell off.
The collapsed pedestrian walkway began construction in 2012 as part of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Four Major Rivers Project. It was designed to connect Gwangsin Bridge by linking several connecting ramps in succession.
Upon inspecting the site, the Gwangju City General Construction Headquarters found that one of the connecting ramps making up the walkway had detached from another ramp and fallen down.
The metal guardrail installed on the fallen connecting ramp was bent or broken, and the cross-section of the walkway connecting the ramps was exposed.
The Gwangju City General Construction Headquarters explained that they had inspected the walkway six months ago but found no abnormal signs at that time.
They also stated that a detailed safety inspection of Gwangsin Bridge, which received a B grade in a precision safety assessment in 2020, has been underway since June. Although the walkway was included in the inspection, no issues were found.
However, instead of verifying whether the bridge or facility could withstand loads, the walkway was classified as an auxiliary bridge and was only inspected visually.
An official from the Gwangju City General Construction Headquarters said, "In addition to the detailed safety inspections, we conduct regular inspections every six months. No structural problems have been found in either the regular inspections or the detailed safety assessments," adding, "At this stage, we do not know the cause of the detachment of the walkway's connecting ramp. We plan to investigate the cause of the accident with construction experts starting tomorrow."
Meanwhile, at around 11:48 AM on the same day, a section of the pedestrian walkway next to Gwangsin Bridge in Seo-gu, Gwangju, collapsed. There were no pedestrians or cyclists passing through the accident section at the time, so there were no casualties. However, since this is a walkway frequently used by citizens in their daily lives, the incident could have resulted in a major accident.
Gwangsin Bridge is a bridge crossing the Yeongsan River in the city center, measuring 510 meters in length and 35 meters in width, and was completed in 1983.
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