Society

Repair of airport bridge to take 8 months

Sep 19 (NHK) - The government says the damaged access bridge for Kansai International Airport in Osaka, western Japan, will likely take around 8 months to fully repair.

Powerful winds and waves from a typhoon drove an oil tanker into the bridge on September 4th, damaging railway tracks and an access road to the island airport.

Railway traffic recovered on Tuesday, and vehicular traffic is currently using undamaged lanes originally used for traffic from the airport to the mainland.

On Tuesday, transport minister Keiichi Ishii told reporters he is aiming to fully restore road services by early May of next year when the Japanese holiday season begins.

Damaged girders from the bridge were removed on Friday.

The road's operator West Nippon Expressway says it will manufacture and install new girders, or reuse older, undamaged girders where possible. It says the production will take until around spring of next year, before the girders are reinstalled.

Ishii said he has seen the damage first hand and acknowledges the impact, so he will work to restore services as soon as possible.

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