Are Japan’s Bridges Safe?

Following the horrifying bridge collapse a few days ago in America and reports that a huge number of American bridges are structurally deficient, the Yomiuri Shinbun has reported on the status of Japan’s bridges:

More than 80 percent of local authorities have not been conducting regular inspections for damage to road bridges under their jurisdiction, according to a survey conducted by the Construction and Transport Ministry.

The February survey found that seven prefectures and 1,567 municipalities have neglected to make regular checks for erosion, cracks or deterioration, citing reasons such as budgetary deficits or a lack of specialists.

Many bridges built during the postwar years of high economic growth will be coming to the end of their life spans in the next 20 or 30 years, and the need for preventative maintenance and other measures to avoid accidents is pressing.

The ministry is taking a serious view of incidents such as the collapse of the Interstate 35W freeway bridge in Minneapolis on Wednesday–40 years after its construction–and plans to strongly urge all local authorities to carry out inspections similar to those conducted by the central government and other authorities.

All 47 prefectures and 1,835 municipalities, which administer roads such as prefectural highways and city streets, were surveyed.

The ministry found that seven prefectures–Fukui, Tottori, Okayama, Yamaguchi, Fukuoka, Saga and Kagoshima, and 1,567 municipalities including Sendai and Sakai in Osaka Prefecture, both of which are ordinance-designated major cities–did not conduct regular checks on road bridges.