Minister Park Sang-woo visited the construction site of the Gimpo-Paju Han River Tunnel on the morning of the 15th to check the progress of the work and confirm safety measures and the status of safety management using advanced technology.
Minister Park noted, "The Han River Tunnel is the first road tunnel in the country that penetrates the Han River under the water, representing both a technical challenge and a symbol in the field of underground infrastructure. The foundation that must be laid first is safety, and safety will be the top priority at every stage of construction."
Minister Park emphasized, "Given that underwater tunnel construction is inherently a high-difficulty project involving complex factors such as groundwater pressure and ground safety, I ask all site personnel to heighten their awareness and ensure rigorous safety management."
The Han River Tunnel is part of the second metropolitan expressway, which began construction in February 2019, and is the first road tunnel to pass under the Han River. Currently, excavation work covering a total length of 2,980 meters is ongoing using the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) method.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is participating in a concentrated safety inspection led by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, involving all ministries and local governments. They are conducting thorough inspections on 939 facilities, including roads, railways, aviation infrastructure, public rental housing, construction and demolition sites, and private logistics warehouses managed by the Ministry and its affiliated institutions.
The inspected facilities are those that have been identified as potentially concerning for disasters or accidents through risk analysis based on recent accident types and summer heavy rainfall.
The Ministry plans to actively utilize advanced equipment and checklists by field to ensure that inspections are based on objective data rather than the subjective views of inspectors. In the case of bridges, Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) will be used to quantify the thickness of bridge concrete and the status of rebar placement. Additionally, they intend to expand the use of specialized measurement equipment by using drones for areas that are difficult to visually inspect, such as the upper parts of traditional market roofs and the undersides of bridges.