Taipei City Government workers yesterday began dismantling the 70-year-old Chungshan Bridge piece by piece after it was deemed to be obstructing the flow of the Keelung River and contributing to flooding.
Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who presided over a ceremony marking the start of work, said, "Tearing down the Chungshan Bridge should help lower the water level of the Keelung River by about 48cm, which will significantly help flood relief efforts along the Keelung River when strong typhoons arrive."
The bridge will be broken into 200 pieces and stored temporarily at the site of the Tsaichun Swimming Pool near the bridge until a final home for it is found.
The demolition of the bridge is expected to take until the end of April next year and cost NT$44.68 million, according to the city government.
Ma said yesterday that after a careful assessment of hydraulic and structural problems, the city government decided to tear down the bridge. He said this was the best way to deal with the frequent flooding along Yuanshan part of the Keelung River.
"The Keelung River shrinks at Yuanshan. Because of its narrowed waterway, it became a perfect site for building bridges. There are a total of eight bridges spanning this part of the river," Ma said.
Although his government is relocating the bridge, the mayor praised its aesthetic value.
"The piers, the bronze lamp posts and the fences are the most beautiful parts of the bridge. It has been considered one of Taipei's landmarks for the past few decades," Ma said.
"When I was little, I would stop by the Chungshan Bridge to take a photo of it whenever I visited the nearby Yuanshan Zoo," the mayor said.
"The Chungshan Bridge used to be one of the most frequently used landscapes on postcards."
However, the mayor said that the beauty of the bridge was no longer visible as it is surrounded by seven other bridges.
The bridge will be taken apart with meticulous care, officials said, so that it can be saved for historical and cultural reasons.
City residents will decide where the bridge will finally be moved to, the city government said.
The Chungshan Bridge, built in 1930 by the Japanese during their occupation of Taiwan, originally served as a "pilgrimage bridge" connecting Taipei City and Chietan-shan, where the Japanese kept their designated Shinto Temple during that period.
Controversy over demolishing the bridge has been a heated issue for more than three decades, with the key issues being flooding, transportation and the bridge's historic value.
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