The dismantlement of the Chongqing S Road (重慶南路) overpass, which served as an access ramp to Zhongzheng Bridge (中正橋) in Taipei, was completed yesterday morning, seven hours ahead of schedule.
The overpass, which connected to Heping W Road (和平西路), and the Ziqiang Market (自強市場) under the overpass, were built in 1972.
However, given the wear and tear on the overpass and the shuttering of most of the stores in the market, which had mainly sold secondhand household appliances and furniture, the Taipei City Government announced last year that the overpass would be torn down during this year’s Lunar New Year holiday.
Photo: Yang Hsin-hui, Taipei Times
The New Construction Office said removing the overpass is the first step of a project to revive Zhongzheng (中正) and Wanhua (萬華) districts, the Taipei Public Works Department’s New Construction Office said.
The overpass site was closed off at 9pm on Thursday and machines began demolishing it at midnight, the office said.
While the plan had been to complete the demolition in 168 hours,or seven days, last week the office said it hoped to finish in just 94 hours, so that traffic in the area could resume at 6:49pm last night.
However, yesterday morning the office said the schedule had been moved up to 11:49am.
That time was chosen to symbolize that the 49-year history of the overpass, Taipei Deputy Mayor Pong Cheng-sheng (彭振聲) said.
Although the materials and machines were readied in advance, dispatching workers was difficult during the holiday, but all the people involved worked their hardest to restore traffic as soon as possible, despite the rain, Pong said.
The rain stopped for a few hours on Sunday, allowing the road markings to be drawn, but there are still some puddles and small quality defects, so the office has asked the contractor to fix them as soon as possible, he said.
However, the roadway is still considered a temporary road and could be reconditioned to become a permanent road in the near future, he said.
In total, the 87-hour job involved 437 machines and 1,397 worker shifts, while 3,500 cubic meters of earth, 350 longitudinal girders, 24 transverse beams and 48 pier studs were removed, the office said.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) posted on Facebook at noon that all the city departments involved in the project had repeatedly practiced procedure needed for the job, which is why they were able to finish the project early, a demonstration of the city government’s strong execution ability.
“We not only know how to dismantle bridges, we are even better at building new ones,” he wrote, referring to the reconstruction of Zhongzheng Bridge.
“The city government will give people a safer and steadier bridge to cross between Taipei and New Taipei City’s Yonghe District (永和),” he added.
Pong said the bridge reconstruction project is expected to be finished by October 2022.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS