The construction to reinstall the soundproof tunnel of the Hadong IC overpass in Gwanggyo New Town, which has been neglected for more than two years after being destroyed by fire, will begin next month.
The city of Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, announced that the construction of the soundproof tunnel will begin next month and be completed by December next year.
The Hadong IC overpass connects Gwanggyo New Town, Hadong, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si to Guseong-Dongbaek District, Yongin-si, via Haeoragi Tunnel and Sammakgok Underpass.
In the middle of the overpass, a soundproof tunnel is installed to prevent noise damage in the 500m section adjacent to the apartment complex 40 in Gwanggyo Village.
Like the Gwacheon 2nd Gyeongin Expressway soundproof tunnel fire that occurred the day before yesterday (29th) and caused five deaths, the Gwanggyo soundproof tunnel also spread as it first caught fire in a driving car and then moved to the soundproof tunnel.
However, it occurred early in the morning and there were no casualties.
Conflicts between local governments caused the construction to start belatedly two years after the accident.
This is because the burnt soundproof tunnel section spans 100m each in Suwon and Yongin, and the two local governments have been in conflict over the burden of restoration costs.
Suwon City, the road management body, will first dig the first shovel with 3.8 billion won secured first out of the total reinstallation cost of 6.8 billion won.
Afterwards, the plan is to reflect the remaining 3 billion won in next year's supplementary budget to complete the construction.
The material of the newly installed soundproof tunnel is non-combustible tempered glass.
The city of Suwon explained, "If tempered glass is exposed to high temperatures for a long time, it will break or explode, but it will not catch fire, so the risk of spreading a fire is small."
The 2nd Gyeongin Expressway soundproofing tunnel and the Hadong IC overpass soundproofing tunnel at the time of the fire in 2020 were made by covering the translucent soundproofing board made of acrylic material PMMA, that is, polymethyl methacrylate, on the iron frame.
PMMA has the advantages of high transparency, easy molding, and good noise absorption, but it contains volatile organic substances and is easily ignited.
Despite these disadvantages, it has been widely used because it is cheaper than tempered glass.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport conducted a complete survey of soundproof tunnels across the country right after the 2nd Gyeongin Expressway soundproof tunnel fire, and for soundproof tunnels using fire-vulnerable materials such as PMMA, the relevant parts were completely replaced or reinforced with fire-resistant paint and fireproof boards, and the tunnel currently under construction was If the material is used, the construction will be completely stopped.