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Akashi Kaikyo Bridge

The longest suspension bridge span in the world until 2022.

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Akashi Kaikyo Bridge

via Wikipedia: Akashi Kaikyo Bridge · see source

Where it is

Coordinates: 34°36′58″N 135°01′12″E (34.6160, 135.0200) · Open in OpenStreetMap

Coordinates and connected clubs: the infobox of Wikipedia: Akashi Kaikyo Bridge (CC BY-SA 4.0). Map: drawn by Codexery from OpenStreetMap tiles.

The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge is a suspension bridge linking Kobe on Honshu with Awaji Island across the Akashi Strait.[1] The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, finished in 1998, set a global record upon completion for having the longest central span among suspension bridges, measuring 1,991 meters.[1] This structure belongs to the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway and spans the Akashi Strait, a waterway noted for powerful tidal flows and harsh weather conditions.[1][2][3]

Akashi Kaikyo Bridge
Akashi Kaikyo Bridge. Image: Roulex 45 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Geography and history

The bridge crosses the Akashi Strait, which is 4 km wide, between Kobe on Honshu and Iwaya on Awaji Island.[2] A ferry disaster in December 1945 killed 304 people, and the Shiun Maru disaster in 1955 killed 168 people, prompting public calls for a bridge.[3][4] A technical study by the Japan Society of Civil Engineers in 1967 concluded that design and construction conditions would be extremely severe.[5] The Great Hanshin Earthquake in January 1995 moved the towers, increasing the central span by 1 m, but did not cause substantial damage.[6][7]

Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, Japan
Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, Japan. Image: studio IRONY · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Ferries were the sole means of crossing the strait prior to the bridge's construction.[3] The Japanese government started creating plans for a crossing after a 1955 disaster involving two ferry sinkings that killed 168 people.[4] The Kobe municipal government initiated bridge investigations in 1957, and a national ministry assessment followed in 1959.[5] Work on the bridge started in May 1988, with more than 100 contractors participating.[6]

Akashi-Kaikyo-Oohasi - panoramio
Akashi-Kaikyo-Oohasi - panoramio. Image: hajime · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Traffic began using the bridge on April 5, 1998, following an opening ceremony led by Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako.[6]

Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, Japan (ASTER)
Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, Japan (ASTER). Image: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Space Systems, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

What the cited sources add

The bridge's substructures include two main piers and two anchorages, with the Kobe-side anchorage using an underground circular retaining wall filled with roller-compacted concrete.[2] Scour protection around the caissons includes a 2 m filtering layer covered with 8 m of riprap.[8] Each anchorage consumed 350,000 tonnes of concrete, while the steel cables incorporate 300,000 kilometers of wire.[3][9] The project's total cost was roughly ¥500 billion (US$3.6 billion), with a toll of 2,300 yen and an average daily traffic of about 23,000 cars.[10][11]

Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, Maritime 360-degree
Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, Maritime 360-degree. Image: AsPJT · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

The bridge features 1,737 illumination lights that use RGB color technology to produce various lighting patterns for special events.[12]

Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge
Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge. Image: Roulex 45 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Akashi Kaikyo Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Akashi Kaikyo Bridge at Structurae; Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge – HSBE (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Akashi Kaikyo Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ogihara, "Inspection, Evaluation and Maintenance of Suspension Bridges: Case Studies", CRC Press, 2016, p. 40–58; Ogihara, "Inspection, Evaluation and Maintenance of Suspension Bridges: Case Studies", CRC Press, 2016, p. 40–58 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Akashi Kaikyo Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "BUILDING BIG: Databank: Akashi Kaikyo Bridge", www.pbs.org (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Akashi Kaikyo Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hiroyuki Fujikawa, "本州四国連絡橋のはなし : 長大橋を架ける", 交通研究協会, 2003, p. 2–5 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Akashi Kaikyo Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Yoshida, "Basic Survey and Planning of Akashi Kaikyo Bridge", Proceedings of the Japan Society of Civil Engineers, 1990, p. 1–15 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Akashi Kaikyo Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Cooper, "World's Longest Suspension Bridge Opens in Japan", United States Department of Transportation – Federal Highway Administration; Ogihara, "Inspection, Evaluation and Maintenance of Suspension Bridges: Case Studies", CRC Press, 2016, p. 40–58; Kashima, "The Longest Suspension Bridge", Scientific American, 1997, p. 88–92B; "World's longest suspension bridge marks 20 years since opening", Kyodo News+; Cooper, "World's Longest Suspension Bridge Opens in Japan", United States Department of Transportation – Federal Highway Admini en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Akashi Kaikyo Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Akashi Kaikyo Bridge at Structurae; Ogihara, "Inspection, Evaluation and Maintenance of Suspension Bridges: Case Studies", CRC Press, 2016, p. 40–58 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Akashi Kaikyo Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Construction of Akashi Kaikyo bridge foundation", E-Periodica, 1998, p. 69 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Akashi Kaikyo Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Akashi Kaikyo Bridge at Structurae; Kashima, "The Longest Suspension Bridge", Scientific American, 1997, p. 88–92B (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Akashi Kaikyo Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Cooper, "World's Longest Suspension Bridge Opens in Japan", United States Department of Transportation – Federal Highway Administration (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Akashi Kaikyo Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, Akashi Strait, Japan", Road Traffic Technology (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Wikipedia, "Akashi Kaikyo Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, Akashi Strait, Japan" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Akashi Kaikyo Bridge (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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