Handed over temporary assembled bridge to Shikoku Development Bureau/Kyushu Development Bureau and used for temporary restoration of Kumamoto-Kuma Ohashi Bridge
The temporary assembled bridge (after assembly) stored at the Nakamura River and National Highway Office = From press release materials
The Shikoku Regional Development Bureau and the Kyushu Regional Development Bureau are collaborating on the early recovery of the affected areas. Emergency work by both maintenance bureaus for construction of a detour (temporary bridge) for the "Kuma Ohashi Bridge" (Nishiki Town, Kumamoto Prefecture) on the prefectural road Kakui Ichibu Line, which spans the Kuma River, a class 1 river that was damaged by Typhoon No. 14 in September 2022. Use a construction bridge. The Kyushu Development Bureau could not handle the situation alone, so it sought the cooperation of the Shikoku Development Bureau. Construction preparations were completed at the site, and a truck loaded with an emergency assembly bridge departed from the Nakamura River and National Highway Office (Shimanto City, Kochi Prefecture) on the 20th.
An emergency assembly bridge is a temporary bridge for emergency restoration of roads and bridges damaged by earthquakes and floods. It is easy to assemble and erect on site, and it is possible to secure passage at an early stage. The damaged Kuma Bridge is 340.7 meters long. The road is still closed to traffic, and people are forced to make detours of about 4 kilometers to commute to work or school.
In response to a request from Kumamoto Prefecture, the Kyushu Development Bureau is providing technical support for detour construction using temporary assembly bridges. A temporary bridge is used to construct a temporary bridge upstream while utilizing the undamaged portion of the bridge. The same width of 7.5 meters (two lanes with a sidewalk) can be secured.
The Shikoku Development Bureau provides the "Prefabricated underpass type Warren truss bridge". 22 meters of the 50-meter bridge will be lent. For the remaining 100 meters, two lines from the Kyushu Development Bureau will be used. Construction of the substructure to receive the temporary assembly bridge has been completed at the site. The detour is expected to be completed by the end of April.
On the 20th, a ceremony was held in Takamatsu City to hand over the handover catalog of the temporary construction bridge. Hiroshi Kataoka, Road Information Manager of the Shikoku Development Bureau, Road Department, said, "This is the first time that the Shikoku Development Bureau has lent an emergency assembly bridge to a local government. When a disaster strikes, we will work together like this time and have a support system in place for everyone in the community anywhere in the country.It is an important mission to respond to disasters through such cooperation."
"The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism dispatches the Tech Force (emergency disaster countermeasures dispatch team) in the event of a disaster," said Masatsugu Tanigawa, Road Information Manager of the Road Department of the Kyushu Development Bureau. Apart from that, we are also making use of our nationwide network for materials and equipment so that we can strive for early recovery."
