Public 10 Infrastructure To realize the vision of a livable city, the Taipei City Government has taken many initiatives: accelerated initiation of various road construction efforts that help boost convenient transportation for the public; continued urban greening and beautification efforts to make the city look more pleasant to the eyes and heart; proactively urged a variety of flood control and drainage constructions to protect the safety of residents’ lives and property; and devoted itself to enhancing all kinds of public utility construction projects to promote industrial development and drive prosperity. While we review the past and look forward to the future, the progress Taipei has made is visible for everyone to see and enjoy. Yearbook 162 Public construction in Taipei is pursuing a Garden City greening plan, road leveling schemes, automatic disaster prevention, and Public hydrophilic river banks, which are positioned to promote industrial development and drive urban prosperity. It also largely consists of Infrastructure building public housing and green buildings to enhance urban 10 environmental quality, turning Taipei into an eco-city, which satisfies the local public's housing needs. This chapter introduces Taipei’s public infrastructure accomplishments in 2013. Envisioning our goals and staying focused, while continuing to move forward, will eventually get us there! Part1 Comfortable Road Service Quality Gradually moving toward being an length and is about 38 to 42 meters wide. It is a international quality city, Taipei must provide single-tower asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge people with safe and comfortable road service that includes the approach bridge and approach quality by building new river-crossing bridges, road on the Beitou end, Beitou Service Road new roads, renewing pavements, improving No.13, and the ramp and bicycle trail on the sidewalk conditions, periodically inspecting Shezi Island end. Shezi Bridge was completed bridge and culverts, and setting up common on February 5, 2013 and became officially ducts. Devotion to public infrastructure projects operative on September 19 following the opening paves the way for development in the future. ceremony chaired by Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin on September 18. 1. New Shezi Bridge The new Shezi Bridge provides a new traffic 2. New Fuguo Road Extension corridor that directly connects Shezi Island and The Fuguo Road extension project involves the Beitou and Tamsui Districts. The bridge the east-west main trunk road in the Beitou- contributes to convenient outgoing traffic from Shilin Technology Park that connects important Shezi Island. Meanwhile, across the Keelung trunk roads such as the Zhoumei Expressway, River, Shezi Bridge can serve as a construction Chengde Road, and Wenlin North Road. pathway for Shezi Island development programs The construction consists of two phases to in the future. The main portion of the bridge accommodate zone expropriation in the Beitou- across the river spans around 435 meters in Shilin Technology Park. Panoramic view of Shezi Bridge 163 (1) Phase 1 of the Project meters. This plan started in 2009 and will end in 2014, 6 years in total, and involves pavement This part of the Fuguo Road extension project renewal of major roads in Taipei. Between 2009 has a total length of around 1,800 meters. It and 2013, renewal of 238 roads was completed, connects the Fuguo Road Interchange ramp with an area of around 5,690,000 square meters bridge and the flat road underneath in the west, in total. Calculated for an ordinary 4-lane road and it crosses Huang River to arrive at the (16 meters wide), about 355 kilometers were intersection of Wenlin North Road and Wenchang completed, which is equivalent to the distance Road in the east, including the bridge across from Keelung to Nanzi and Qishan in Kaohsiung. the Huang River. The two-way bridge is about For the renewed pavements involved in this 545 meters long and 16 to 22 meters wide, with project, around 39,400 manholes in total were two car lanes, the bicycle lane, and the sidewalk lowered. In 2013 alone, an additional 338,000 each way. The flat road is around 40 to 45 meters square meters were renewed and 1,904 wide and a two-way road, with four car lanes, the manholes were lowered. Once the whole project bicycle lane, and the sidewalk in each direction. is completed, it is expected that road service Construction began on March 2, 2013 and is quality will be greatly improved in the downtown scheduled for completion on August 26, 2015. area of Taipei, providing a safe and comfortable (2) Phase 2 of the Project traffic network. The proactive action, care, and devotion demonstrated by the Taipei City This part starts with the Fuguo Road ramp Government to the maintenance of roads was of the Zhoumei elevated road in the west and recognized and won the honor of national first arrives at the starting point of Stage 1 of the place by the Construction and Planning Agency, project. The total length is around 600 meters. Ministry of the Interior in the Metropolis Category The development timeframe for phase 2 of of the "2013 Urban Road Maintenance and the Project will depend on the Beitou-Shilin Management Performance Evaluation." Technology Park zone expropriation. 3. Renewal of Project-Covered Roads Roads in Taipei have an approximate total area of 22,520,000 square meters. Without taking into account divides, sidewalks, gutters, and MRT construction sites, the actual asphalt concrete area comes to approximately 15,000,000 square The renewed portion of Chengde Road Section 4 4. Improving Sidewalk Conditions Sidewalks in Taipei have an approximate total area of 2,500,000 square meters. From 1999 to 2013, the condition of around 2,206,680 square meters of sidewalks was improved, accounting for 88.27% of the total area in the city. Targeting around 50,000 square meters of sidewalks to be renewed each year, it is expected that The renewed portion of Zhongxiao East Road Section 3 Yearbook 164 The sidewalk along Yumen Street is wide and filled with greenery The bridge is carefully examined comprehensive improvement can be completed in 2019 to provide Taipei citizens with safe, beautiful, organized, and spacious walking spaces and improve the quality of residential and activity spaces. The Taipei City Government proactively promotes improvement and renewal of sidewalks and the outcomes have been well received by the public. Taipei City Government won the honor of national first place in the Metropolis Category of the 2013 Evaluation of Barrier-free Environments for Pedestrians in Urban Areas, issued by the Construction and Planning Agency, Ministry of the Interior. Power cables inside common ducts at Nangang Business Park 5. Periodic Inspection of Bridges and facilitate the necessary reinforcements to ensure Culverts traveling safety. There are currently 198 ordinary bridges, . 34 river-crossing bridges, 30 overpasses for 6 Constructing Common Ducts vehicles, 88 overpasses for pedestrians, 12 In accordance with the Common Duct tunnels, 12 underground passageways for Act, the Taipei City Government included vehicles, and 54 underground passageways public facility pipelines that belong to different for pedestrians, or 428 in total, in Taipei that are operating units in common ducts to minimize periodically inspected and repaired. road excavation and reduce the risk of traffic jams and accidents possibly arising from road (1) Painting Steel Bridges construction. To date, common duct construction has been completed in the following areas and is The steel structure was reinforced with a now in full operation: the Civic Boulevard route, resistance buttress to slow down environmentally the New Community route (Keelung River Bend caused erosion on the steel structure. These straightened area), the Zhoumei route and the measures were aimed at ensuring safety, and Nangang Economy and Trade Park, Dadu Road, enhancing the appearance of the bridge. the railway underground eastward extension (2) Bridge Inspection, Maintenance construction project to Nangang, Neihu Phase 5, and Guandu Road. The following common duct and Reinforcement projects are now under construction: the MRT A total of 238 bridges were inspected in 2013. Xinyi Line common duct, the MRT Songshan Shock resistance components and flood control Line common duct as part of the MRT network, mechanisms of the bridges were checked. Beitou-Shilin Technology Park, and Fuguo Road. For bridges that require any improvements The MRT Wanda Line, on the other hand, is still after inspection, a budget will be earmarked to under planning and design. 165 Part2 Quality River System Dredging and Management 1. Flood Control and Drainage Engineering in Taipei by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taipei’s overall flood control program Construction is primarily characterized by embankment construction along rivers, complemented by (1) Establishing a Comprehensive watercourse dredging and river management. Flood Control Mechanism in Taipei The city’s embankment construction in the The Taipei Comprehensive Flood Control planning stage is measured at 131,231 meters Management Commission was inaugurated in in length. The embankment already requiring 2006 with the objective of launching a new water protection in 2013 totaled 109,141 meters. management mechanism for “retaining upstream Construction of the stretch between Wanfang water resources, minimizing midstream flood Interchange on National Highway No. 3 and the risks, and preventing downstream flooding”, Taipei Metro Bridge in Muzha is measured at integrating support from the public and private 500 meters, started in 2013 and is scheduled for sectors to create a safe, comfortable, pleasant completion in February 2014. The length pending and healthy eco-metropolis. 3 commission construction for the Zhoumei embankment along conventions and 3 awareness campaigns were the Keelung River is around 1,500 meters. The held in 2013 to formulate general, integrated project will complement the completion of the and quantified flood control objectives, thus Beitou-Shilin Technology Park Development enhancing flood-prevention programs and Project.