Jeju to Reduce Repeated Road Excavation by Coordinating Electricity, Gas and Telecommunications Work in Advance

【Financial News Jeju = Reporter Yong-bok Jeong】 Jeju will coordinate excavation schedules in advance to reduce repeated excavation of the same roads, as water and sewage, gas, telecommunications and electricity projects are carried out separately by different agencies. The aim is to address the inefficiency of digging up a road again for another project after it has already been restored, as well as to reduce traffic inconvenience from the planning stage.
According to Jeju Special Self-Governing Province on the 13th, the province held the “2026 Third-Quarter Road Management Deliberation Committee” meeting on the 10th to review plans for excavation and occupation of major roads.
The key measure is to coordinate construction schedules among agencies in advance. Roads contain facilities managed by multiple organizations, including water and sewage pipelines, city-gas lines, telecommunications cables and power infrastructure. If each agency digs up roads separately according to its own project schedule, the same sections may undergo repeated excavation and repaving.
Jeju Special Self-Governing Province will review excavation and road-occupation projects submitted by relevant agencies and public project operators together and coordinate their construction schedules. Projects planned for the same sections will be linked as much as possible to reduce repeated excavation, restoration costs and inconvenience for motorists and pedestrians.
The Road Management Deliberation Committee is not a system operated exclusively by Jeju. It is a statutory deliberative body established within road-management authorities under the Enforcement Decree of the Road Act.
It reviews and coordinates the formulation and adjustment of plans for projects involving road excavation, as well as road-occupation project plans, traffic-management measures, safety measures for major underground facilities and safety measures for road infrastructure affected by excavation.
The law also provides a basis for establishing a Repeated Excavation Subcommittee to coordinate project schedules and prevent overlapping excavation of roads. The mechanism is intended to reduce, at the permit and planning stages, the problem of multiple agencies repeatedly digging up the same road at different times.
Jeju Special Self-Governing Province will also examine safety and traffic measures during construction. Safety equipment will be installed in work zones, and excavation during commuting hours will be avoided whenever possible. Detour information will also be provided to reduce inconvenience for motorists and pedestrians.
Management does not end when excavation is completed. The province will check whether the excavated sections have been sufficiently compacted and whether the pavement has been properly restored, in order to prevent roads from sinking or pavement from being damaged after construction. Insufficient compaction following underground pipeline work can lead to road-surface subsidence or cracks as vehicles pass over the area.
The direction presented by Jeju Special Self-Governing Province at the meeting can be summed up as “reducing the number of construction projects” and “improving the safety of each excavation.” The process involves coordinating schedules among agencies first, checking underground facilities and traffic safety during construction, and inspecting the restoration afterward.
Hyun Joo-hyun, Director of the Urban Construction Bureau of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, said, "We will further strengthen our cooperation system with relevant agencies to reduce residents’ inconvenience caused by road excavation projects and provide a safe and pleasant road environment." Hyun added, "We will make every effort to supervise the sites so that the projects reviewed by the committee proceed safely and without disruption."
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