Taiwan Military Demolishes Old Span to Accelerate Mingli Bridge Reconstruction

The Combat Engineer Company of the Hualien-Taitung Defense Command completed a controlled demolition of an old bridge on the 20th of this month in the Mingli District of Hualien County. The operation precisely dismantled the old bridge structure while simultaneously supporting the county government’s reconstruction project for the Mingli Bridge. This initiative not only provides space for local post-disaster reconstruction but also serves as a critical component of the unit’s combat-oriented training, refining the engineer troops’ skills in immediate demolition and sabotage in response to "anti-resource-to-enemy" scenarios.

Since the Taitung earthquake in July 2018, infrastructure across the Hualien-Taitung region has suffered significant damage. The Mingli Bridge was severely damaged by the earthquake, becoming a major bottleneck for local transportation and logistics. The county government launched a reconstruction plan this year, utilizing modern designs and materials to enhance the bridge’s seismic resistance while addressing environmental and community needs. The military’s participation aims to optimize the safety and timeline of the reconstruction, preventing secondary disasters that could result from improper demolition.

National military engineer units have long played a pivotal role in disaster relief and infrastructure reconstruction. Since the Taiping Mountain fire in 1999, the military has repeatedly dispatched engineering troops to assist in post-disaster rebuilding, providing technical support for demolition, cleanup, and reconstruction. The recent demolition of the Mingli Bridge primarily employed "controlled demolition," utilizing precise calculations and the placement of explosives at multiple points to ensure that the demolition was limited to the old bridge structure, thereby minimizing the impact on the surrounding environment and traffic.

During the operation, the engineer company coordinated closely with local government authorities, civil engineers, and the fire department. Preliminary site surveys and safety assessments were conducted to determine the demolition schedule and risk control measures. Immediately following the demolition, cleanup and inspection work commenced to ensure the results met engineering standards. This effort not only provided a safer traffic environment for the locality but also allowed the engineer troops to experience the complexities of actual demolition and on-site coordination in combat-oriented training, enhancing their adaptability when dealing with enemy "resource-to-enemy" facilities.

From a national defense perspective, the operation also holds strategic significance. In "anti-resource-to-enemy" missions, engineer units often need to demolish or destroy enemy facilities within a short timeframe to weaken their combat capabilities. By completing the demolition in cooperation with the local government, the unit was able to verify key elements such as explosive configuration, demolition timing, and safety protection in a real-world environment, further refining operational manuals and training modules. The accumulation of such practical experience is of considerable value for enhancing the overall combat readiness of national defense and strengthening the rapid response capability to external threats.

In summary, the cooperation between the Combat Engineer Company of the Hualien-Taitung Defense Command and the Hualien County Government has provided substantial support for local reconstruction while offering valuable combat-oriented training opportunities for national military engineer units. In the future, as more post-disaster reconstruction projects are integrated with national defense exercises, the complementary relationship between national security and local resilience will be further consolidated. (Source: Central News Agency)