Toward a Balanced Heritage Management Plan for Old Stone Bridges Considering the Embedded Cultural Significance

Abstract

Old stone bridges in Korea are becoming short of safety while their cultural significance is becoming more important. Unlike existing modern bridges requiring strengthening mainly for structural safety, old stone bridges must be treated from both the points of view of historic significance and safety to advocate for the preservation of cultural and engineering landmarks–monuments for the people and communities. Therefore, engineers must balance preservation principles demanding authenticity of materials and visual characteristics with code requiring safety, strength, and stability and historic significance for the maintenance of historic bridges. This article proposes a framework for developing management plans for old stone bridges to consider cultural significance values as decision variables. To verify the concepts proposed in this article, a case study was simulated for the Supyo Bridge management plan, which is under consideration by the office of Seoul Metropolitan cultural heritage.