West Japan Expressway Kansai Branch / Chugoku Expressway Renewal Bridge Replacement Site Open to the Public, Construction by JFE Engineering Joint Venture
Miyamae Viaduct in progress to replace with new steel floor slabs
On the 17th, the West Nippon Expressway Kansai Branch opened the site of the renovation work being carried out on the Chugoku Expressway to the press. The section between Suita JCT and Chugoku Ikeda Interchange (10.7 km) is undergoing intensive construction to close traffic all day for about 40 days. .
The Chugoku Expressway between Suita JCT and Takarazuka IC opened in 1970. In 1975, it was connected to Kobe JCT. While the number of users has increased significantly, 50 years have passed since the opening of the bridge, and the deterioration of structures such as bridges is progressing. For this reason, as a drastic countermeasure, large-scale renewal projects are being carried out, such as replacing with highly durable materials and reinforcing them.
The intensive construction work due to the all-day road closure will start from 2021. By fiscal 2010, the project will be carried out six times, and a bridge with a total length of about 4.8 kilometers will be replaced. Both are closed for about a month and a half. The fifth session will begin on the 4th of this month, and the sixth session is scheduled to begin in January 2023.
What was released was the reconstruction site of the Miyanomae Viaduct (extension of 1222 meters) between Toyonaka Interchange in China and Ikeda Interchange in China. The elevated bridge employs a crane construction method, and a crane placed on the main line removes the existing bridge and constructs a new bridge girder. Erection work using a crane was carried out on this day as well, and a new steel floor slab was installed in place.
A total of about 25,000 people will be involved in the construction of this project, which is scheduled to replace 10 bridges with a total length of 830 meters. There are 22 cranes, including one for 1,000-ton lifting. The main materials are about 3,400 tons of steel and about 2,500 tons of concrete members.
In other construction sections, in addition to the crane construction method, a jack-up construction method is used to construct bridges that are assembled under elevated tracks, and a "horizontal construction method" that moves bridges in parallel is used in railway crossing sections.
JFE Engineering, MM Bridge, Kawada Industries, Miyaji Engineering, P.S. Mitsubishi JV is in charge of the detailed design and construction of the renewal work. The construction period is until June 25, 2025
