OITA, Jul 03 (News On Japan) - A bridge in Hita City, Oita Prefecture, is at high risk of collapse and has been completely closed to traffic.
The bridge piers appear to be crumbling, and the road is noticeably sagging. It’s an astonishing scene as the bridge seems about to break.
A nearby worker said, "I heard a very loud noise, a thud. I thought it might be a large vehicle accident, so I looked outside, but that wasn’t the case. On closer inspection, the bridge was falling."
The location is Hita City, and the Saburo Maru Bridge spans the Kagetsu River, which is currently flowing with muddy waters.
A local resident said, "A large truck had stopped, and I thought it might be an accident. When I looked closer, I saw the bridge was tilted. I initially thought a truck or something had fallen, but it was the bridge itself."
Another resident added, "There was a traffic jam in front of my house, so I knew something was up. My husband contacted me, saying, 'The bridge has collapsed,' so I hurried to see. It was beyond my imagination. It was much worse than I expected."
"I went to see it, and there was a person stopped in front of the bridge. They told me they heard a sound like thunder, and as they were about to cross, the bridge fell, so they stopped," another local said.
Around 2 p.m. on the 2nd, the police imposed traffic restrictions due to the bridge's collapse risk. Hita City experienced over 250mm of rain in 24 hours.
A nearby resident commented, "(The river water) reached up to here. Yesterday, it was right there, almost at the brink. It's troublesome because it's a vital artery to the city. Everyone is troubled."
"Was the river swelling?" a resident was asked. "Yes, it was. It was very bad yesterday morning. I felt scared. I cross the bridge multiple times a day. Large trucks also pass through during the day, so there’s never a time when nothing is crossing," they replied.
According to Oita Prefecture officials, the bridge has been in use for about 60 years.
A prefectural official said, "Records from around 1964-65 are still available. We’ve been using the bridge with appropriate reinforcements."
Could the bridge have tilted due to the river’s rising waters?
Shinichiro Yano, a professor at Kyushu University's Faculty of Engineering, explained, "With the increased river flow, the water speed also increases, stirring up sediment at the riverbed and around the piers, which causes them to tilt. This phenomenon is common during relatively large-scale floods. Currently, the rain has mostly subsided. It’s unlikely that the piers will be washed away immediately. However, restoring the bridge won’t be easy. It will likely involve removing and replacing the piers."
Source: ANN
