To the Departments (Bureaus, Commissions) of Transport of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, as well as to the Yangtze River Navigation Administration:

In accordance with the Work Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Regulations on the Administration of Work Safety in Construction Projects, and relevant standards for highway and waterway engineering, our Ministry has organized the preparation of the “Criteria for Determining Major Production Safety Hazards in Highway and Waterway Engineering.” This document is hereby issued to you; please implement it conscientiously.

General Office of the Ministry of Transport

April 14, 2025
 

Criteria for Determining Major Safety Hazards in Highway and Water Transport Engineering Projects

Article 1 To strengthen the identification and remediation of major safety hazards in highway and waterway engineering projects, and to effectively prevent and curb the occurrence of production safety accidents, this determination standard is formulated in accordance with the Work Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Regulations on Safety Management of Construction Projects, and relevant standards for highway and waterway engineering.

Article 2 This standard applies to the identification of major safety hazards during the construction phase of new, renovated, or expanded highway and waterway projects.

Transportation authorities at or above the county level, as well as participating entities in highway and waterway engineering projects, may, in accordance with this standard, identify major safety hazards in such projects.

Article 3 For the purposes of this standard, a major production safety hazard refers to a potential risk in highway and waterway construction operations that is of significant severity and difficult to rectify, and which may result in mass casualties or substantial economic losses.

Article 4 If any of the following circumstances exist in construction management, it shall be classified as a major accident hazard:

(1) The construction unit, without a valid qualification certificate of the corresponding level or a safety production license, engages in construction activities without authorization;

(2) The principal person in charge of the construction unit, the project manager, and the full-time safety production management personnel are engaged in their respective duties without holding valid certificates of passing the safety production assessment.

(3) Special construction plans for high-risk sub-projects have been implemented without being prepared, reviewed, and approved, or without undergoing the required expert appraisal as stipulated, and construction has been carried out in violation of regulations.

(4) The traffic organization plan for highway reconstruction and expansion projects that do not require traffic interruption was not prepared, reviewed, or approved in accordance with the relevant regulations, and construction was commenced without authorization.

Article 5 If any of the following conditions exist in the arrangement of the office area, living area, precast yard, fabrication yard, and mixing plant—collectively referred to as the “Two Areas and Three Yards”—it shall be classified as a major accident hazard:

(1) In areas subject to the impacts of landslides, collapses, debris flows, rockfalls, floods, avalanches, and other hazards, facilities are located without having undergone assessments for flash flood and geological hazard risks and without effective protective measures in place.

(2) The office and living areas are not maintained at a safe distance from the work area, the storage area for flammable and explosive materials, overhead exposed electrical lines, or other such hazards, nor are they located within the potential fall zone of tall equipment such as gantry cranes, tower cranes, and mixing‑tank vessels.

Article 6 If any of the following circumstances exist in the construction of high-slope projects, they shall be classified as major accident hazards:

(1) The excavation method for high slopes was not implemented in accordance with the specialized construction plan or technical specifications; stability monitoring was not conducted, or no measures were taken when monitoring results indicated abnormalities.

(2) In landslide-prone areas, the excavation of high cut slopes and the construction of anti‑slide retaining structures were carried out without staged, skip‑step excavation.

Article 7 If any of the following circumstances exist in deep excavation construction, it shall be classified as a major accident hazard:

(1) Excavation methods, support systems, and dewatering measures were not implemented in accordance with the specialized construction plan, or no corrective measures were taken when monitoring results reached the warning threshold.

(2) Local slumping of the side walls, significant water leakage or soil piping, and water or sand surges at the bottom of the excavation pit occurred, yet work was not halted and personnel were not evacuated.

Article 8 If any of the following circumstances exist in cofferdam construction, it shall be classified as a major accident hazard:

(1) Internal support members of steel‑encased (suspended) caissons have not been addressed in cases of collision‑induced deformation, unauthorized removal, arbitrary reduction, or the stacking of heavy loads; structural concrete has been subjected to drainage operations before reaching the design strength, or pumping has been carried out at water head differentials exceeding the design limits.

(2) The cofferdam has not been monitored, or measures have not been taken when monitoring results exceed the warning threshold;

(3) In navigable waters, the cofferdam lacks vessel‑collision‑prevention warning measures, or construction vessels are illegally moored to the cofferdam.

Article 9 If any of the following conditions are present in scaffolding support systems, slipform construction, climbing (slip) formwork, traveling formwork, or suspended working platforms, they shall be classified as major accident hazards:

(1) For scaffolding support systems classified as high-risk projects, the foundation bearing capacity, structural configuration, preloading procedures, and dismantling sequence fail to meet the requirements of the specialized construction plan, or the applied construction loads exceed the design values.

(2) Formwork systems, including slipform and climbing formwork systems, are put into service before passing acceptance inspection.

(3) Suspended scaffolds and traveling formwork systems have been put into service without proper design, fabrication, and acceptance inspection, or without undergoing the required pre‑loading as specified in the dedicated construction plan, or with pre‑loading that fails to meet the required standards.

(4) During the movement of the traveling formwork, or when dismantling load-bearing formwork or support systems, the concrete strength and modulus of elasticity have not reached the design requirements, or the prestressing has not been tensioned in accordance with the design specifications.

Article 10 If any of the following circumstances exist in bridge construction, it shall be classified as a major accident hazard:

(1) During the installation of girders and slabs or the relocation of bridge‑erection machines across existing highways, waterways, railways, urban rail transit lines, and other infrastructure, no safety measures were implemented in accordance with the specific construction plan.

(2) During the construction of a cable-stayed bridge, the cable‑hanging platform at the tower end was not installed in accordance with the dedicated construction plan.

(3) During the construction of suspension bridges, the catwalk is not erected or dismantled in accordance with the requirements of the specialized construction plan, or wind‑stability measures are not implemented, or the load‑bearing cables and other wire ropes used on the catwalk have not been inspected and accepted as compliant prior to being put into service;

(4) During the construction of an arch bridge, if the structural strength of the arch ring has not reached the design requirements before dismantling the falsework, or if the falsework is not removed in a symmetrical and balanced manner.

Article 11 If any of the following circumstances exist in tunnel construction using the drill-and-blast method, it shall be classified as a major accident hazard:

(1) Excavation methods and support parameters were not implemented in accordance with the design requirements or the specific construction plan, or the excavation methods and support parameters were altered without prior approval.

(2) During construction, in the event of sudden abnormal conditions such as water and mud bursts, high-pressure water喷ing, a sudden increase in water discharge, localized collapses, distortion or deformation of support structures, or the occurrence of cracks and spalling, no work was halted and personnel were not evacuated.

(3) The tunnel has not conducted monitoring and measurement, nor has it carried out advanced geological forecasting; or, when monitoring and measurement exceed the warning thresholds, no effective measures have been implemented.

(4) In Class IV and higher‑grade surrounding rock sections where not all construction processes are mechanized, the distances between the invert and the face, as well as between the secondary lining and the face, were not controlled in accordance with the dedicated construction plan or technical specifications.

Article 12 If any of the following circumstances exist in tunnel shield tunneling construction, it shall be classified as a major accident hazard:

(1) Where the launching reaction frame for tunnel boring machines has not undergone specialized design, has not been constructed in accordance with the design, or where the parameters for launching the tunnel boring machine have been improperly adjusted;

(2) Continuing operations despite failure of the shield tail seal.

Article 13 If any of the following circumstances exist in tunnel construction, it shall be classified as a major accident hazard:

(1) The high and steep side slopes at the tunnel portal have not been reinforced, protected, or monitored in accordance with the design requirements.

(2) When the actual geological conditions significantly deviate from the investigation and design documents, or when the surrounding rock classification undergoes a grade change, dynamic design has not been carried out in accordance with the relevant regulations.

(3) During tunnel construction, monitoring of toxic and harmful gases was not conducted in accordance with the specialized construction plan or technical specifications, or work continued even after the concentrations of such gases reached or exceeded the permissible limits.

(4) The explosion-proof power supply and distribution system, gas detection system, and ventilation system of gas‑bearing tunnels have not been installed in accordance with technical specifications, or their functions have failed; when the gas concentration reaches or exceeds the permissible limit, no effective measures have been taken; and the operating machinery used in high‑gas work areas and in coal (rock) and gas outburst work areas has not been of the mine‑explosion‑proof type.

Article 14 If any of the following circumstances exist in port engineering or waterway construction projects, they shall be classified as major accident hazards:

(1) The high-pile wharf structure was not constructed in accordance with the design‑specified sequence of “slope excavation prior to pile driving,” or the quay‑side structure was subjected to overloading.

(2) The operation of towing caissons onto the vessel does not comply with the specific construction plan or technical specifications, or the floating transport of caissons was carried out without verifying the draft, ballast, and buoyant stability.

(3) For sheet-pile wharves, excavation of the berthing area along the quay front shall be carried out prior to the completion of the anchor block and tie‑rod structure.

(4) Underwater blasting operations do not comply with the requirements of the specialized construction plan or technical specifications;

(5) The temporary pier was not inspected and accepted in accordance with the requirements of the specialized construction plan or technical specifications prior to use.

Article 15 Where specific provisions exist for the identification of major accident hazards in areas such as special equipment, civilian explosives, and fire safety (fire incidents), those provisions shall apply.

Article 16 This criteria shall take effect from the date of its issuance. In cases where previously issued criteria are inconsistent with the provisions of this criteria, the provisions of this criteria shall prevail.