Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday announced his decision to relocate the city's historic but controversial Chungshan Bridge (中山橋).
"For cultural reasons and reasons of hydraulics, we will remove Chungshan Bridge to a different location in the city," Ma said, adding that the new location would be decided after further deliberation. He said that the earliest possible starting date for the work would be this October.
Ma's decision comes after more than a decade of controversy over the fate of the 72-year-old bridge in the city's Chungshan district. The controversy mainly centered around flooding, traffic management and the bridge's cultural value.
TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO
"The cultural reason," the mayor said, "is that this bridge has a long history and that many people have developed an emotional attachment to it."
Chungshan Bridge was constructed in 1930 by the Japanese during their occupation of Taiwan and served as a "pilgrimage bridge" connecting Taipei City and Chientanshan (劍潭山), where the Japanese Shinto Temple stood.
"But the bridge's beauty is now obscured by its crowded surroundings," said Lung Ying-tai (龍應台), director of the city's Bureau of Cultural Affairs.
Lung was referring to the Hsinsheng fly-over and the Chungshan Second Bridge, which are both close to the Chungshan Bridge.
"By moving the Chungshan Bridge we can preserve its beauty and also give the public a better view of it," she added.
Ma said that the removal of the bridge could reduce the potential risk of flooding around it, reducing water levels by up to 48cm.
Ma cited a report on the bridge's hydraulics and structural integrity. The report was commissioned by the Taipei City Government last year and compiled by the National Taiwan University's Hydraulic Research Institute and Sinotech Ltd Co, a firm of consulting engineers.
"Noting the irregular weather and flooding problems [brought about by strong typhoons] we have encountered lately," said Chen Shih-chieh (陳世杰), a section head at the Bureau of Public Works.
"We feel that it is better to remove the bridge in order to decrease the risk of possible flooding as well as to enhance our anti-flooding measures."
But Hsu Yu-chin (徐裕建), an associate professor in the architecture department at Hua-fan University, and Tsay Ting-kuei (蔡丁貴), a professor of civil engineering at National Taiwan University, both called Ma's decision "regrettable."
"It is regrettable that Ma did not take our study into consideration," said Tsai.
Separate research by Tsai and his colleagues concluded that the removal of the bridge would only bring the surrounding water level down by about 20cm.
"I think that Ma has made a hasty and irrational decision over the fate of the Chungshan Bridge because he did not take the time to gather enough information," Hsu said.
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