© Brad KremerKurushima Kaikyō Bridges 1999
Kurushima Kaikyō Bridges 1999
The Bridges
The world’s first three continuous bridges link two of Japan’s islands over the 4km-wide Kurushima Strait. Opened in 1999, the Kurushima-Kaikyo Bridges are comprised of three steel suspension bridges with stiffened-box girder decks, each sharing anchorages that join one bridge to the next.
The Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Project fulfilled Japan’s ambition in the 1980s and 1990s to link the main island of Honshu with the southerly island of Shikoku via three major crossings: Kurushima, Bisan-Seto and Akashi. These comprised of 17 major individual bridges over the deep waters separating the islands. These include the Tatara Bridge, the Minami Bisan-Seto Bridge and the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge.
The Kurushima bridges are the most westerly of the three crossings and link Hiroshima, on Honshu, to Imabari, on Shikoku, via the small island of Ohshima.
Kurushima Kaikyō Bridges
Three continuous suspension bridges
Key Facts
Three bridges which are all part of Japan’s Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Project
The steel suspension bridges enable a 4,015m crossing
Location
Ehime, Shikoku, Japan
Carries the E76 Nishi-Seto Expressway across the Kurushima Strait
Linking Ohshima Island to Shikoku
Designers / Engineers
Honshu Shikoku Bridge Authority
Description
First bridge: 600m main span
Second bridge: 1,020m main span
Third bridge: 1,030m main span
Main contractors
Kawasaki Heavy Industries
Honshu Shikoku Bridge Authority
Construction
Construction began 1990
Opened 1999
Other long-span bridges
