Heavy Rain Causes Chiayi Bridge Access Road to Cave In|嘉義願景橋引道塌 縣府將釐清責任

Southern Taiwan has experienced several consecutive days of heavy rainfall. The rain caused the road leading to a bridge in Chiayi's Shuishang Township to cave in just eight days after opening to traffic. Jia-yi Charitable Group, which had constructed the bridge, said the county government was in fact the one in charge of the access road.


Heavy rain pummeled southern Taiwan on July 2. In Chiayi's Shuishang Township, a road leading to a bridge caved in as a result of the rain. The bridge was constructed at a cost of NT$5 million, and open to traffic at the end of last month. County residents subsequently criticized the shoddy work. The bridge had been constructed by the Jia-yi Charitable Group, an organization that uses donations to repair bridges and build roads in remote villages. The group hurried to clarify the facts.

This area has a unique geology so the county government contracted out the work to build the access road on this side. The bridge is one issue, and the road is another.

Only a small section is considered the bridge, and the place where the surface subsided is part of the access road. The county government outsourced the construction. The pavement started collapsing as soon as the rain started. The contractor began excavating the road to find the reason for the cave in while it was still raining, exacerbating the situation. The county government says it will investigate to determine who is responsible. It adds if the reason is a design problem or a material problem, it will ask the contractor to make improvements.