Keelung landslide road reopens ahead of schedule

Taipei, June 10 (CNA) An intersection between Beining Road and an entrance to Chaojing Park in Keelung, which was affected by a landslide on June 3, reopened ahead of schedule at 2 p.m. on Monday.

Last Monday, a landslide at the Beining Road entrance to the coastal park buried several cars.

The Keelung City Fire Department later disclosed that same day that nine vehicles were affected, with witness accounts and video camera footage appearing to indicate everyone in the seven cars and two trucks impacted by the landslide escaped unhurt.

Following the incident, Transportation and Communications Minister Li Men-yen (李孟諺) said last Tuesday that he suspected the combined effects of recent earthquakes and continuous heavy rain may have caused the landslide.

The Ministry of Transportation and Communications' Highway Bureau also announced the same day that workers aimed to clear rocks and other debris by the early hours of June 11 and complete safety checks on the slope adjacent to the road by noon on June 11.

Efforts to reopen the road were completed ahead of schedule on Monday, prompting Lee and Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) to initiate onsite safety inspections together later the day.

Speaking with local media, Lee said clearing the debris went smoothly and that the damaged surface of the road had already been repaved.

Because of the swift repair work, the road will reopen ahead of schedule, Lee said.

Lee said that the reopened road contains a 6-meter buffer zone, whereby the width of the road is narrowed and the speed limit set at 25 kilometers per hour, imploring users of the strip to be aware.

Lee went on to say that there will be onsite personnel deployed to monitor the condition of the road at all times.

He added that he hoped the reopened road would help with traffic congestion that might occur from Taiwan finishing up the three-day Dragon Boat Festival long weekend.

A maintenance project to permanently reinforce the foundation of the slope adjacent to the road will also be done at a later date, Lee said.