6 officials probed over road repairs

Six officials have been placed under investigation in Gansu province for apparently dodging their responsibilities in the repair of a poorly constructed road, according to the local transport department.

The department disclosed the investigation on Sunday, urging related parties to punish those involved in the failure to repair the ZheqiaoDachuan road, which runs through impoverished Dongxiang county.

Traffic has been suspended near the Kaole tunnel, which runs several hundred meters and has multiple cracks visible to the naked eye. The tunnel’s safety will be checked, the department said.

It added that it has also begun to investigate the construction and pledged “zero tolerance” for embezzlement or other misconduct.

Construction of the 77-kilometer road began in 2009 in an effort to boost the local economy and make it easier for people to travel outside the isolated county. Around 1.6 billion yuan ($254 million) was invested, according to China Central Television.

Last year, the State Bureau for Letters and Calls received complaints that the construction was of poor quality, especially the Kaole tunnel. Investigators found that only one layer of reinforcement bars had been used, although the original design required two layers, the report said.

The transport department had been asked to renovate the road and tunnel, with a target date of Nov 28. But no repairs have been carried out, and officials shuffled responsibility as to who’s in charge of the work, the report said.

China has set a goal to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020, which requires the eradication of extreme poverty.

The State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, China’s top poverty-relief agency, in December designated 2018 as the year of “work style construction” and pledged severe punishment for misconduct.