A new bridge in the mountains of southern Taiwan, boasting the nation’s tallest bridge pier at 99m, opened for traffic on Saturday.
Guchuan Bridge (谷川大橋) is the only link to the outside for the isolated mountain village of Wutai (霧台) in Pingtung County, and was completed after four years of construction in difficult terrain.
The bridge spans the valley of Ailiaobei River (隘寮北溪), and is 654m long and 10m wide, replacing an original bridge, known as Wutai No. 1 Bridge, which was destroyed by debris and floodwater during tMorakot Typhoon in August 2009.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
A Directorate General of Highways official said the new bridge design addressed possible damage by flash floods during the typhoon season by increasing the distance between bridge piers, and only one pier set within the regular river flow.
That bridge pier stands at a height of 99m, which is equal to a 33-story building. It is now the highest bridge pier in Taiwan,” the official said, who declined to be named.
“The diameter of the bridge pier is about the same as the deck of the bridge at 10m. It is designed to withstand the erosion of the river’s rushing waters. Local residents should have no worries that the bridge piers will get washed out by flood waters,” he added.
The official said there were many problems that were overcome during the bridge construction.
“At times, in this mountain area we had strong winds of 5 to 6 [on the Beaufort wind scale]. Also we had thunder strikes and heavy rains. It was very difficult in those conditions. Due to this and other dangers, we had quite a few workers who got scared, walked out and quit,” he said.
“Eventually, we overcame all the tough challenges and were able to finish the project with a perfect record of ‘zero accidents’ across the 1,023 days of construction,” the official added.
With a total cost of NT$ 700 million (US$ 23.86 million), the concrete and steel structure links Wutai Township to Sandimen Township (三地門) of Pingtung County.
The two areas are inhabited mostly by Rukai and Paiwan Aborigines.
Wutai Township head Yen Chin-cheng (顏金成) said people are now no longer living on an isolated island.
“The new Guchuan Bridge is an important link for us to the outside world. It will benefit our local tourism and economic development,” Yen said.
He said that the bridge improves the lives of villagers, and also provides a safe access road for visitors heading into the mountains to enjoy the scenery, viewing of cherry blossoms in the spring, and making a trip to the area’s main tourist attraction, Shenshan Falls (神山瀑布).
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
RSS