Collapse Occurs 7 Months After Aging-Related Renovation; Bridge Was Not Subject to Regular Safety Inspections

 
Following the collapse of Boritdol Bridge in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, on the 28th, calls are growing to investigate the cause of the collapse and determine whether safety management was adequate.

It was confirmed that Boritdol Bridge, where the accident occurred, underwent repair work last year due to safety issues related to aging, but was not included in the facilities subject to regular safety inspections under the law.

While no connection between the cause of the collapse and the recent repair work has been confirmed so far, experts point out that future investigations into the cause of the accident should also examine the adequacy of the construction and maintenance practices.

In particular, it is necessary to investigate whether the marine pedestrian bridge, frequently visited by tourists, was left in a blind spot for safety management under the system.

The accident is expected to make a re-inspection of the overall safety management system for marine pedestrian bridges and observation facilities inevitable.

According to Pohang City and other sources on the 28th, Boritdol Bridge, completed in 2013, was found not to be included in facilities subject to regular inspections.

It was learned that last year, Pohang City carried out bridge replacement (repair) work after signs of safety problems due to aging appeared.

Boritdol Bridge is a 225-meter-long marine pedestrian bridge crossing the sea to connect wave-cut platforms and the coast, drawing frequent visits from tourists seeking natural scenery.

A city official said, "Boritdol Bridge does not meet the scale of regular inspection facilities specified in the Special Act on the Safety and Maintenance of Facilities. Accordingly, it was not subject to regular inspections."

The official added, "We conducted bridge repair work last year," and noted, "We need to check the exact details of the construction."

The city restricted access to Boritdol Bridge while conducting replacement work from September 8, 2025, to January 9 of this year.

In the bidding public notice for the detailed design service, the city stated reasons for pursuing the project, such as "improving bridge performance and preventing safety accidents by replacing aging bridges rated C and D in safety."

The service targeted three locations: Boritdol Bridge (170m), connecting bridge (55m), and Boritdol Pavilion (24.5m).

The city also issued an additional notice stating that new technology (a repair and protection method for steel and concrete surfaces using metal mixture coating containing graphene oxide) would be applied to the project, asking bidders to verify their construction method status.

To date, no direct link has been confirmed between the collapse and the recent bridge repair work.

At 1:15 PM on the 28th, a roughly 50-meter section spanning two piers of Boritdol Bridge in Janggil-ri, Pohang, collapsed into the sea in an instant.

Seventeen anglers were temporarily isolated by the accident, but rescue teams arrived 12 minutes after the report and rescued all of them alongside private fishing boats.

A representative case of major damage caused by the collapse of a marine facility in South Korea is the Seongsu Bridge collapse in October 1994.

At that time, the middle section of Seongsu Bridge collapsed, resulting in 32 deaths.

Park Ki-bum, a professor of architecture and civil engineering at Kyungil University, diagnosed, "It is unusual for the space completely between piers to break off and collapse. It is not easy for this to happen from a short-term problem, and there is a high possibility that there were prior signs."

He added, "There is likely to have been a problem with the facility structure or management," and said, "It is necessary to check whether last year's pier repair work was properly carried out."

He emphasized, "Taking this accident as an opportunity, inspections should be conducted on aging pedestrian bridges and other bridges across the country where there is heavy public traffic."
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.