Taipei City Government

Originally estimated to take at least 94 hours to demolish, the Chongqing South Road Viaduct was completely demolished at 11:49 on January 27 (7 hours ahead of schedule), thanks to the lightning speed and tireless around the clock efforts of the demolition crew. Besides thanking the demolition crew for sacrificing their Chinese New Year holiday, gratitude is also extended to the local residents for putting up with noise, dust, and inconvenience during the demolition process.

In order to minimize interference on citizens, the Taipei City Government has specially chosen light traffic hours during the Chinese New Year and mobilized as much demolition equipment as possible, aiming to complete the demolition mission in the shortest feasible time. After the demolition of the viaduct was completed, Section 3 of Chongqing South Road now features an obstructed view of the horizon and skyline as a scenic boulevard, generating local economic development.

After the Zhongzheng Bridge access ramp to Chongqing South Road Viaduct in Taipei City was demolished while carrying out finishing touches, such as AC pavement milling and road marking, Deputy Mayor Peng Chen-Sheng led the heads of various government agencies including Public Works Department, Department of Transportation, Police Department, and New Construction Office to announce that the Zhongzheng Bridge access ramp to Chongqing South Road Viaduct and the Ziqiang Market under the bridge have been officially decommissioned at the intersection of Chongqing South Road and Heping West Road at 11:30 on January 27, and to issue the directive to resume traffic. Furthermore, at the auspicious time of 11:49, Section 3 of Chongqing South Road once again became a scenic boulevard for the first time in 49 years, ready to generate local business opportunities and regional prosperity.

According to Deputy Mayor Peng, in addition to prepared materials and equipment, the material suppliers were stretched to provide the necessary materials in order to accomplish the priority of demolishing the bridge and reopening the road. However, the demolition process took place in the rain and some parts of the road remain waterlogged, hence the quality is still not satisfactory. To this end, the government will make sure that the contractors remedy the problems as soon as possible. Since it is a road restoration project, it is thus considered a makeshift road, and after it is open to the public, it may be adjusted as a permanent road depending on traffic conditions.

The New Construction Office (NCO) of the Public Works Department commented that the demolition of Chongqing South Road Viaduct is the first step of the Zhongzheng Wanhua Revitalization Project. Initially scheduled to take 168 hours (7 days during the Chinese New Year holiday), the bridge demolition operation subsequently adopted the technique of closing off the entire road section and employing multiple pieces of demolition equipment to finish demolition within 94 hours. At first, it was considered an almost impossible mission, but after coordinating with various departments and agencies within city hall, the demolition crew overcame daunting challenges through meticulous planning to remove 25 viaduct sections, 350 longitudinal beams, 24 transverse beams, 48 piers, and 100m of access ramp on either side. A total of 3,500m3 of soil was removed, 450m3 of concrete poured, 11,760m2 of AC pavement laid, and 3,000m of road markings marked, mobilizing 437 pieces of construction equipment and 1,397 workers. After mobilizing such a large amount of manpower and equipment, the demolition crew was able to complete the demolition task by working day and night, and the hard work of personnel from various units finally paid off.

The agency indicated that after the Chongqing South Road Viaduct was demolished, 3 lanes of the surface road will be opened to traffic in either direction, joining the Zhongzheng Bridge and connecting traffic between Taipei City and New Taipei City. In the morning rush hours, reversible lanes will be implemented for the road section and Zhongzheng Bridge during rush hours. Citizens are reminded that after the demolition of the Chongqing South Road Viaduct, some construction projects will still be carried out on the surface roads and may impact local traffic, so road users are reminded to abide by the speed limit so that everyone can get through the inconvenience during the transition period together. City hall has formed a traffic flow team to manage traffic daily in response to traffic conditions. For further traffic-related information, please contact 1999 or refer to the NCO's webpage (https://nco.gov.taipei/Content_List.aspx?n=5303E16EB7F45AFA). Everyone's cooperation is appreciated; the attached demolition project final report is for citizens' reference.

The Taipei City Public Transportation Office (PTO) stated "In response to the demolition of Zhongzheng Bridge access ramp to Chongqing South Road Viaduct, buses driving through the controlled road sections during the construction period will resume operation from 12:00 on January 27. Relevant bus routes and station-related information will be released via Taipei eBus (ebus.gov.taipei), smart bus stop, and the app service provider for the public's convenience."