The National Freeway Bureau (NFB) yesterday vouched for the safety of the nation’s freeways, even though some of them are in areas known to be prone to soil liquefaction.
According to an online database released by the Executive Yuan on Monday, parts of freeways No. 1, No. 3 and No. 5, as well as Expressway No. 88 are in areas with a high probability of soil liquefaction, one of the factors presumed to have contributed to the collapse of a building in Tainan that killed 115 people after a magnitude 6.4 earthquake on Feb. 6.
The bureau said that it has been allocating funds to reinforce the bridges along the freeways after the nation’s infrastructure was severely damaged by a magnitude 7.6 earthquake on Sept. 21, 1999.
The reinforcement was conducted in accordance with the Standard Specification of Highway Bridges, which was amended after the 1999 earthquake, it said.
Apart from re-evaluating the structural integrity of old and new highway bridges based on the standards, the bureau said it also conducted additional geological surveys.
The bureau said that it considered the risks posed by soil liquefaction and reinforced the bridges along the highways to withstand earthquakes.
The bureau said it has used several methods to reinforce the structural integrity of the bridges, including soil improvement and adding piles or caissons to the foundation.
The soil used to reinforce the highways along embankments was also carefully selected and accurately used to ensure that the pavement would not cave in, it said.
Bureau statistics showed that 1,162 bridges along freeways No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 have been reinforced.
The reinforcement of national freeways would continue in the years to come, the bureau said.
The latest reinforcement plan was approved by the Executive Yuan in November last year, which would be carried out in three separate phases, the bureau said.
In other news, the bureau announced plans to ease freeway congestion during the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday, from April 2 to April 5.
It is a major national holiday, as family members gather and clean the tombs of their ancestors.
The bureau said that people observing the tradition on the weekend before the official holiday — March 26 and March 27 — would be given a 20 percent discount on their freeway tolls.
During the official holiday, freeways would be toll-free between 11pm and 5am, beginning on the night of April 1.
The traffic volume on the nation’s freeways could top 2.95 million vehicles, the bureau said.
High-occupancy vehicle policy, in which a car must carry at least three passengers to be allowed on the freeway, would be enforced on Freeway No. 5 on southbound lanes between 7am and 12pm on April 2 and April 3, as well as on northbound lanes between 3pm and 8pm on April 4 and April 5.
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