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The debate is fierce in Seoul about the future of the Yanghwa Bridge which has been gone through renovation since February 2010 for widening the space between bridge posts.
The bridge connects Mapo-gu on the north side of the river to Yeongdeungpo-gu on the south side.
While there already had been a standstill last summer, the construction came to another halt early this year as the city council stripped off the remaining 18.2 billion won budget for the bridge saying that the bridge is a core part of the Grand Canal Project and costs too much tax.
However, the city government is determined to finish the construction, not satisfied with the 8.5 billion won offer the council made for the downstream part, which can reshape the curved bridge to a straight line.
“The delay can be dangerous for citizens crossing the unfinished bridge and Seoul will lose the chance to become an attractive port city,” a city official argues. “The sink cost adds up to 6 billion won and the constructor may sue for compensation, if the construction does not continue.”
The council is also firm on its stance, saying that the city administration is responsible for the event.
“We have informed the administration about the cut numerous times, but the city chose to ignore it instead without having an alternative plan. The administration already has a history of faking to stop the construction but kept on with most of its plan. It is hard to trust the city’s words when they do this, a council member says.
“The old bridge received a ‘B’ in 2009 same as most other bridges for safety. Nothing was wrong except that 5000-ton ships could not pass, which would mainly be luxury cruise ships. I don’t
understand how the administration supports a 415-billion-won project for improving scenery while opposing 700billion won for freely distributing environment-friendly lunch at schools.”
“There is no problem with safety even though the shape would change,” said a spokesperson of council members who belong to the main opposition Democratic Party. “There would be room for concession, if the city administration decides to negotiate on the whole budget including free meals for students.”
Meanwhile, 1.4 million people are still crossing the temporary bridge every day.
