Engineers responded to motorists’ concerns over cracks in the Hsuehshan Tunnel, with one saying that the tunnel is safe, but measures should be taken to prevent a possible collapse.
Some motorists said they saw cracks as long as 2m in the tunnel, which is 10 years old.
One Yilan resident, surnamed Lin (林), said that while sitting in traffic last week he noticed that the cracks were so pervasive in some areas of the tunnel that they resembled spiderwebs.
Lin said he initially thought that the cracks were isolated to one area of the tunnel, but was surprised to discover that the full 12.9km length of the passage was affected by them.
“Some cracks are very long and as wide as half a centimeter. They seem to be mostly concentrated around the northbound 25km highway mark. There is a lot of traffic that goes through the tunnel and I am concerned about the possibility of a collapse,” Lin said.
Another motorist, surnamed Chen (陳), said: “Both the northbound and southbound sections of the Hsuehshan Tunnel are filled with cracks, and Pengshan Tunnel is similarly affected. Alhough I have not yet seen water leaking through the cracks, I am afraid that once the situation reaches that level it will be too late to save people. I hope the tunnel engineers will not play with people’s lives.”
Chen added that the cracks do not appear to be from construction work, but rather seem to be new cracks that might have appeared between construction projects.
National Taiwan University civil engineering professor Huang Tsan-hui (黃燦輝), who specializes in tunnel engineering, said the cracks are a sign of deformation, adding that a thorough inspection should be conducted.
Huang said there are many possible causes for cracks, such as tectonic activity.
“The tectonic plates under Taiwan are very active. Every year they move at least 1cm or 2cm. If the tunnels are affected by that tectonic activity, it is very possible they will change shape,” Huang said.
Huang said that the concrete walls of the tunnel are approximately 40cm thick and that 1cm to 2cm cracks at the surface will not affect structural integrity.
However, engineers should take measures to prevent the cracks from spreading further, he said.
The National Freeway Bureau said that there are records for keeping track of cracks at the tunnel, adding that regular inspections are being conducted and there are no concerns over the tunnel’s structural integrity.
The bureau’s chief engineer, Hsu Cheng-chang (許鉦漳), said the bureau has already investigated the width, length and depth of the cracks and will continue to conduct regular inspections in the tunnel.
“Some of the cracks are due to contraction of the concrete following construction work, while some are from earthquakes or pressure from the mountain,” he said. “There is no threat to motorists using the tunnel — the cracks are still within the scope of what is safely permissible. There has been no deformation at the tunnel.”
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