Inspection of Sarukai Pedestrian Suspension Bridge in Totsukawa, Nara — Restored Through Tripartite Technical Cooperation
On October 1, the Kinki headquarters of the National Conference on Infrastructure Maintenance, Totsukawa Village in Nara Prefecture, and the Honshu-Shikoku Expressway Company held an inspection tour of the Sarukai Bridge, a pedestrian suspension bridge that reopened in March after repair and reinforcement. The project was carried out under a Technical Cooperation Agreement on Pedestrian Suspension Bridge Maintenance.
The 143-meter-long bridge, built around 1960, had been rated “Grade IV (poor)” in a 2015 inspection, showing deformations and cracks in the supports and towers. Initially, the village considered demolishing it but lacked the technical means. Wanting to preserve the bridge for local residents, village officials consulted with the Kinki Forum, which coordinated cooperation with the Honshu-Shikoku Expressway Company.
Following surveys and pilot tests, the three parties signed an agreement in November 2020. With expert advice from Honshu-Shikoku Expressway engineers, structural reinforcements were implemented, including strengthening of cable anchorages and installing bypass components. Construction was carried out by a joint venture of local contractors Hasegawa Construction and Nishi Construction.
The inspection was attended by Mayor Hiroyuki Tamaki, Kinki Forum leaders, Honshu-Shikoku Bridge engineers, and representatives of the Kinki Regional Development Bureau. At a subsequent meeting, participants stressed that the success of Sarukai Bridge could serve as a model for addressing similar challenges nationwide, especially for municipalities facing shortages of funds and engineers.
Officials emphasized that the project was made possible thanks to the specialized knowledge of Honshu-Shikoku Expressway Company. Mayor Tamaki expressed gratitude and said the village would continue to seek technical advice under the cooperation framework for the utilization of other suspension bridges.
