Without a crackdown on illegal gravel quarrying and effective maintenance of endangered bridges, the collapse of the Kaoping Bridge (
In the wake of the collapse of the Kaoping Bridge on Sunday, which injured 22 people, DPP lawmakers and engineering professionals held a press conference yesterday to urge the government to take heed of the problem of dangerous bridges and poor bridge maintenance in Taiwan.
"The collapse of the Kaoping Bridge is a predictable accident, as professionals had labeled the bridge a dangerous structure some five years ago," said Chang Chang-hai (
Citing a 1996 record offered by a civil engineering association, DPP Legislator Wong Chin-chu (
"The pillars of these bridges have become seriously exposed and are subject to dangerous erosion, so these structures are really in jeopardy," Wong said.
The seven bridges labeled as dangerous include the Chungchang Bridge (中彰大橋), the Tatu Stream Bridge (大度溪橋), the Tzuchiang Bridge (自強大橋), the Hsichou Bridge (溪州大橋), the Taan Stream Bridge (大安溪橋), the Tachia Stream Bridge (大甲溪橋) and the Touchien Stream Bridge (頭前溪橋).
Lawmakers and professionals said poor maintenance work and illegal gravel quarrying controlled by organized criminal groups and local government officials are all possible factors that have created dangerous situations at these sites.
In the case of the 22-year-old Kaoping Bridge, records offered by the Ministry of Transportation and Communication (MOTC) show that the bridge has been repaired 10 times since 1988.
But the collapse of the main thoroughfare between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, Chang said, simply reflects the poor quality of public construction work in Taiwan.
"My major concern is that people simply don't care about the quality of public construction in Taiwan. But the expense triggered by the collapse of the bridge this time, such as traffic congestion and costly repairs, can at least teach us a hard lesson and be a catalyst for change," Chang said.
Five legislators from the DPP's New Tide faction (新潮流系) visited Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (陳定南) early yesterday morning to request that Chen target illegal gravel quarrying as part of the ministry's crackdown on crime and corruption, DPP lawmaker Tsai Ming-shian (蔡明憲) said.
DPP Legislator Lai Chin-lin (
Wong recounted rumors about how elected officials in her constituency of Chunghua County compete for illegal gravel quarrying through violent means. Unless the government endeavors to eradicate these illegal practices, similar tragic bridge collapses will be repeated, Lai warned.
Chang told of how illegal gravel quarrying can endanger nearby bridges.
"To protect bridges, the government has forbidden gravel quarrying within a certain distance from bridges. But illegal operators simply don't care," Chang said.
"As a result, excavation of gravel near bridges deepens the nearby riverbed that should act as a support for the pillars of the structure. The pillars then become exposed and the stability of the structure becomes endangered," he added.
Meanwhile, Control Yuan mem-bers Huang Wu-tzu (黃武次) and Hsieh Ching-hui (謝慶輝) visited the site of the collapsed bridge yesterday to investigate the possibility of official malpractice in the case.
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