Home > National > Social Affairs

Deadly expressway bridge collapse spotlights systemic safety failures at Korean construction sites

Published: 27 Feb. 2025, 15:35

A bird-eye view photo showing collapsed bridge of a highway connecting Gyeonggi and Sejong on Feb. 25. [YONHAP]

The recent collapse at a bridge construction site on the Sejong-Pocheon Expressway is just the latest in an unfortunate string of bridge-building mishaps, with experts pointing to longstanding systemic failures in the construction process.

They note that issues repeatedly identified in past accidents continue to plague bridge projects, including inadequate design reviews, poor construction execution and insufficient safety management and oversight.

According to the police and fire authorities, the accident at the Sejong-Pocheon Expressway construction site in Gyeonggi occurred while installing a girder.

The construction method used was the so-called DR girder launching technique.

This commonly used method involves prefabricating deck slabs and crossbeams in a factory before assembling them on-site to simplify the construction process. On sloped terrain, a launcher device — a specialized crane — is used to push the bridge deck onto the piers. The launcher moves horizontally along the piers, pushing the deck into place.

Experts suspect the deck was not adequately secured at the time of the collapse.

Rubble is piled up at the bridge construction site collapse in Anseong, Gyeonggi, on Feb. 25. [NEWS1]

"To properly position the girder, it must be pushed from a stable location," said Prof. Ahn Hyung-jun of Konkuk University’s Department of Architectural Engineering. "However, it appears that the ends of the deck were not fully secured, leading to the collapse."

Concerns were also raised that standard safety procedures at the site may not have been followed.

"It appears that the accident occurred while the launcher was being removed," said Ahn. "If the safety manual had been strictly followed, this accident would not have happened."

“This raises questions about whether proper safety training was provided or whether the operator handling the launcher was sufficiently skilled."

Firefighters try to rescue injured workers who were trapped under the rubble at the bridge construction site collapse in Anseong, Gyeonggi, on Feb. 25. [NEWS1]

Experts pointed out that, like the Pyeongtaek International Bridge collapse in August 2017 and the Siheung bridge collapse in April last year, the latest accident may have resulted from fundamental failures in design, construction and oversight.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s investigation into the Pyeongtaek International Bridge collapse revealed multiple design defects. Engineers miscalculated the girder’s resistance to shear forces and failed to account for the necessary pipe space at the construction site.

A key construction process was also omitted from the project specifications. Defects were additionally found at the construction stage, including improper connections between the upper girder and the walls.

The Siheung bridge collapse followed a similar pattern. Authorities found that a newly patented and untested construction method was used without sufficient review. Moreover, safety management standards at the construction site were inadequate.

Firefighters try to rescue injured workers who were trapped under the rubble at the bridge construction site collapse in Anseong, Gyeonggi, on Feb. 25. [YONHAP]

The key question in the case of the expressway collapse was whether safety rules were followed correctly at each stage of construction.

"We need to check whether the design drawings complied with bridge design standards, whether the deck was built according to those plans, and whether the correct number of reinforcing bars was used," said Prof. Park Chang-geun of Kwandong University’s Civil Engineering Department. "In the Pyeongtaek accident, key details were missing from the project specifications."

"We must verify whether the current project adhered to its specifications."

Some experts argue that the repeated occurrence of such accidents, which could have resulted in significant casualties, points to a systemic issue beyond mere technical failures.

Bridge deck segments at an expressway construction site collapse in Cheonan, South Chungcheong on Feb. 25. [YONHAP]

"If we focus solely on technical causes, accidents will keep happening," said Prof. Choi Myung-ki of the Korea Industrial Site Professors Association.

"We need to establish a systematic verification process that examines factors such as whether the construction timeline was sufficient, whether illegal subcontracting was involved, whether the construction budget was appropriate and whether the site workers had adequate technical expertise."

The Land Ministry said Thursday it would restart publishing a list of major construction companies linked to fatal accidents, along with information about their current projects, after suspending the practice in 2023.

BY JEONG SAE-HEE, SON SUNG-BAE, LEE CHAN-KYU, KIM MIN-YOUNG [[email protected]]