Yanghwa Bridge

The Yanghwa Bridge (양화대교) is an eight lane bridge spanning the Han River in Seoul. The bridge connects Mapo-gu on the north side of the river to Yeongdeungpo-gu on the south side of the river. The bridge is buttressed by the eastern end of the island of Seonyudo, home to Seonyudo Park (선유도공원).

Yanghwa Bridge 양화대교
The Yanghwa Bridge, facing north. Bukhansan is in the background.
Coordinates	37°32′N 126°54′E
Crosses	Han River
Locale	Between Mapo-gu and Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Characteristics
Material	Steel plate, concrete
Total length	1,053m
Width	Old bridge:18m New bridge:16.1m
History
Designer	Old bridge: Daehan Design Corporation New bridge: Daehan Consultants Co.Ltd
Constructed by	Old bridge: Hyundai Engineering & Construction New bridge: Sambu Construction, Co. Ltd
Construction start	Old bridge: June 1962 New bridge: January 1979
Construction end	Old bridge: January 1965 New bridge: February 1982

Yeouido map

The bridge is a combination of two bridges: the old bridge, originally called the "Second Han River Bridge" (제2한강교), completed in 1965; and the new bridge, completed in 1982. The old bridge was the first bridge built by Korean technology after independence in 1945 and served as the gateway from Seoul to the west coast. Due to increasing traffic, construction for an expansion started in 1979 and the new eight lane bridge was completed in February 1982.

The old bridge's upper structure has a width of 18.0m, length 1,053m and is composed of steel plate girders and concrete box girders. The new bridge has a width of 16.1m, length 1,053m and is a steel plate girder bridge. The lower structure has an open caisson well foundation.

The bridge went through repairs and renovations in 1996 and reopened in April 2002 with additional ramps. As of February 2010, the bridge is once again going through renovations by widening the space between bridge posts to allow 5000t ships to pass.[1] Yanghwa Bridge also has a song named after it called "양화대교 Yanghwa Bridge" by R&B/soul singer Zion.T in 2014 and is the only bridge in South Korea to have such notability.