Monday, April 30, 2012

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Nitta Bridge across the Sumida River

March 2012 (35.768 Degrees, 139.743 Degrees) Nitta Bridge
The next bridge has five simple steel plate girder spans on 'A' shaped piers. It's 374 ft long, about 30 ft wide, and it was completed in 1961. This bridge has the highly decorative lamps and railing that are typical for Sumida River crossings.
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Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Nitta Bridge across the Sumida River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Toshima Bridge across the Sumida River

(35.767 Degrees, 139.748 Degrees) Toshima Bridge
Another bend in the river and another arch bridge. This interesting structure was completed in 2007. It's a 350 ft long pony arch with two big box girders under the deck (see photo below). If you look closely you can see cables holding the end of the bridge to the ground.

There is often an effort for bridges in Japan to match the color and texture of the surrounding buildings, which this bridge has successfully accomplished. In fact it won several awards for its appearance, shape, color, and details.
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Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Toshima Bridge across the Sumida River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Toyoshima Bridge across the Sumida River

March 2012 (35.763 Degrees, 139.755 Degrees) Toyoshima Bridge
This is a nice view of the Sumida River with fishing poles tied to the railing. The river used to be too polluted for fishing. However, we are near the river's source which may bring cleaner water and more fish. This photo also provides another view of the Metropolitan Expressway along the river's southwest bank.

There are two Toyoshima Bridges that cross this part of the Sumida River (we'll look at the other bridge tomorrow). This bridge is a one span tied arch bridge on a skew that is 350 ft long and completed in 2001. It replaced a steel Gerber Bridge built in 1960 that slowly deteriorated due to ground settlement along the banks.
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Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Toyoshima Bridge across the Sumida River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Friday, April 27, 2012

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Metropolitan Expressway Central Circular Route across the Sumida River

March 2012 (35.760 Degrees, 139.751 Degrees) Metropolitan Expressway
The next bridge is a double-deck viaduct (on single column bents!) that crosses the Sumida at a bend in the river and then runs parallel to the river until another bend separates them again. It's over a mile long and carries the Metropolitan Expressway across both rivers before connecting to the Kawaguchi Route along the north bank of the Arakawa. When I took this photo, I was standing on the southeast bank of the Sumida looking downstream to where the bridge crossed the river. I think I would have supported this viaduct on two column bents considering the high seismicity of the region.

I would have said this is an ugly bridge, but the many spectacular photos of the expressway, especially at night, have given me a new appreciation for Tokyo's elevated expressways.
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Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Metropolitan Expressway Central Circular Route across the Sumida River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Kodai Bridge across the Sumida River

March 2012 (35.754 Degrees, 139.763 Degrees) Kodai Bridge
The next bridge across the Sumida is a single span tied arch that was completed in 1992. It's called the Kodai Bridge after the geographical name for this part of Adachi Ward. It replaced a bridge that was built in 1933 (during the building boom following the Great Kanto Earthquake). It is a 400 ft long bridge with two traffic lanes and sidewalks. It carries Hakusan Road from the south across a bend in the Sumida and then the road turns west and runs parallel to the Arakawa.

The City of Tokyo apparently likes painting bridges with bright colors including chartreuse. I think the lamps on the bridge must have been taken from the older bridge since they don't look like they were made in 1992.
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Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Kodai Bridge across the Sumida River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Adachi-ku Bridges across the Sumida River

March 2012 (35.753 Degrees, 139.770 Degrees) Adachi-Ku Bridges
Continuing into the Adachi Ward where the wide Ogu Road Bridge and the narrow Nippori Toneri Railway Bridge cross the Sumida River. The bridges continue across the Arakawa (the highway bridge rests briefly on an embankment between the two rivers) and then they continue north with the elevated railway in the roadway's median.

The Adachi-Odai Station is part of a railway bridge between the two rivers. Since it was built in 2008 the Nippori Toneri Bridge must have been built at about the same time (although the Ogu Road Bridge could be older).

Across the Sumida the roadway bridge has a continuous three span steel girder superstructure and the rail bridge has a three span concrete box superstructure. We'll see these two bridges again when we turn around and follow the Arakawa back downstream.
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Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Adachi-ku Bridges across the Sumida River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Otake Bridge across the Sumida River (2)

March 2012 (35.753 Degrees, 139.789 Degrees) Otake Bridge
Another view of the Otake Highway Bridge. It's a continuous three span bridge with an arch supporting the center span. If you look closely you can see 'belvederes' placed before and after the arch, just past the hammerhead bents.
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Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Otake Bridge across the Sumida River (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Otake Bridge across the Sumida River (1)

March 2012 (35.753 Degrees, 139.789 Degrees) Otake Bridge
I passed another utility bridge before reaching the Otake Roadway Bridge. It's a 427.5 ft long steel tied arch built in 1994. Unlike the Suijin Bridge, the Otake is a simpler arch bridge with vertical cable hangers supporting the floor beams. The bridge carries Highway 313 north to Highway 461 and across the Arakawa.
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Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Otake Bridge across the Sumida River (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Kesei Railway Bridge across the Sumida River

March 2012 (35.744 Degrees, 139.789 Degrees) Kesei Railway Bridge
The next river crossing is a railway bridge that carries the Kesei Main Line, which is a private railway that goes between Tokyo and Narita Airport. I usually take the JR Express to and from the airport, but the Kesei Line provides a pretty trip through Chiba Prefecture.

This is a two span Warren Truss with vertical members and rounded top chords, similar to thousands of other railroad bridges all over the world.
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Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Kesei Railway Bridge across the Sumida River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Senju Bridges over the Sumida River (2)

March 2012 (35.740 Degrees, 139.797 Degrees) Senju Bridges
A view looking downstream at two utility bridges in front of the Senju Bridges. The river was once heavily travelled but now it's almost empty. We are past the area covered in my book on Tokyo River Walks and just a few miles from the river's beginning.
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Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Senju Bridges over the Sumida River (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Friday, April 20, 2012

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Senju Bridges over the Sumida River (1)

March 2012 (35.740 Degrees, 139.797 Degrees) Senju Bridges
There are two clusters of bridges crossing this part of the Sumida River. We just passed the three JR Joban Bridges and now we are at the Senju Bridges, which includes a newer steel plate girder bridge, an older steel truss arch, and a utility bridge. The New Senju Bridge is 1650 ft long and built in 1972. The Old (steel arch) Senju Bridge is 300 ft long and built in 1927.
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Thursday, April 19, 2012

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: JR Joban Bridges across the Sumida River

March 2012 (35.739 Degrees, 139.801 Degrees) JR Joban Bridges
Looking upstream from the east bank of the Sumida River are three through truss railway bridges owned by the JR Joban Line. They all look like Warren Trusses without vertical members, however the closest bridge is shallower and the elements have smaller sections. The two bridges in the back are big camelback trusses, perhaps for heavier freight trains?

It looks like they are driving steel piles for a new bridge in the foreground. However, that is an odd looking pile driver so maybe it's for pouring concrete into the piles. That would explain why those workers are busy spraying off the walkway.

From this point the Sumida River varies from a hundred yards to a mile from the Arakawa until it finally reaches its source at the Iwabuchi Flood Gate six miles from today's JR Joban Bridges. We'll be covering that distance over the next week as we study the last bridges on our journey up Sumida River.
The Sumida River winds back and forth in big lazy loops from its source at the Iwabuchi Gate.
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Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: JR Joban Bridges across the Sumida River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Senju Shioiri Bridge across the Sumida River

March 2012 (35.741 Degrees, 139.812 Degrees) Senju Shioiri Bridge
Continuing upstream along the Sumida River we come to the Senju Shiori Bridge. This is a continuous two-span steel box girder bridge. According to an article by Urata Tamotsu and others at the Miyaji Iron Works, this bridge was erected by the barge pulling method. The superstructure sat on a barge and they waited for high tide to raise it onto the substructure. It is a 541 ft long three lane bridge completed in 2006.
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Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Senju Shioiri Bridge across the Sumida River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Ayase Bridge across a Canal along the Sumida River

March 2012 (35.740 Degrees, 139.816 Degrees) Ayase Bridge
A kilometer upstream from the Suijin Bridge is a short canal that connects the Sumida to the Arakawa. The Metropolitan Expressway turns east at the canal and is supported on big outrigger bents. Under the expressway is the Ayase Bridge that carries Route 461 along the east bank of the Sumida River. The Ayase Bridge is a 200 ft long tied arch bridge with four traffic lanes and wide sidewalks.
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Ayase Bridge across a Canal along the Sumida River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Monday, April 16, 2012

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Suijin Bridge across the Sumida River (2)

(35.736 Degrees, 139.814 Degrees) Suijin Bridge
The Suijin Bridge is a streamlined roadway structure that was completed in 1989. It is composed of two steel box girder arch ribs supporting the deck with pairs of cables that cross each other (a Nielsen Arch). Haunched, continuous steel girders provide a 515 ft three span river crossing with a 335 ft center span. The deck is slightly narrower (57 ft) than the previous roadway bridges across the Sumida River. The deck has two traffic lanes (and a turn lane on one end), wide sidewalks and big belvederes (a word I learned from The Happy Pontist). The abutments include stone faced retaining walls supporting the embankments. I think the bridge is narrower because we are leaving downtown and traffic may be lighter.

We've studied the differences between Nielsen Arch Bridges, Nielsen Lohse Arch Bridges, and Network Arch Bridges, perhaps for some of the Osaka Bay Bridges. There are differences based on the shape of the tie supporting the arch, based on how many times the cables cross each other, and on where the bridge was built. Apparently bridges in Japan with inclined hangers that cross only once are Nielsen Arches.
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Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Suijin Bridge across the Sumida River (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Shirahige Bridge from the Deck of the Suijin Bridge

(35.736 Degrees, 139.814 Degrees) Suijin Bridge
Looking back downstream at the Shirahige Bridge from the deck of the Suijin Bridge. Besides the bridge we also have a nice view of the Sky Tree Tower, The Metropolitan Elevated Expressway, the Riverside Sumida Central Tower, and the Tokyo Gas Tanks (sitting next to the Shirahige Jinja Temple). All of these big modern structures tend to dwarf and hide old Tokyo. You have to seek out and find the older parts of the city. Fortunately, Japan is very careful to preserve its past.

We are actually standing at what was the mouth of the enormous Tone River before civil engineers diverted most of the water to the east (starting at around 700 AD). As you can see on the map below, the east bank of the Sumida River was originally islands in Tokyo Bay. Where we are standing in the photo is called Suijin, the name of the water deity in the Shinto religion.
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Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Shirahige Bridge from the Deck of the Suijin Bridge by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Shirahige Bridge across the Sumida River (3)

March 2012 (35.728 Degrees, 139.810 Degrees) Shirahige Bridge
A view from the upstream side of the Shirahige Bridge. A through truss means less room on the deck so the city put the lamps on the top chord. The sidewalks are supported by floor beams that extend past the truss. The river path ends abruptly at the bridge (only to emerge again on the other side).
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Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Shirahige Bridge across the Sumida River (3) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Friday, April 13, 2012

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Shirahige Bridge across the Sumida River (2)

March 2012 (35.728 Degrees, 139.810 Degrees) Shirahige Bridge
A view of the Shirahige Bridge from Meiji Road. The apartments to the left (the Eastern Shirahige Anti-Disaster Complex) were designed as a kilometer-long solid wall to stop fires and floods. On the right is the Riverside Sumida Central Tower, a 33 story skyscraper designed by the Obayashi Gumi Corporation in 1994.

We are now in Arakawa Ward but the Mukojima Ward is still on the east side of the river. We are close to the Arakawa River, which once flowed between the Sumida's banks, but which was diverted to the east to prevent frequent flooding through downtown Tokyo.

The Shirahige Bridge was designed by Atsushi Masuda near the start of the Showa Era (1925 to 1989). The center span is 260 ft long and the side spans are 147 ft long. It's an interesting bridge and well decorated with objects from Japan's past. For instance, the stone pillar on the far right marks where the home of former prime minister Sanetomi Sanjo once stood. It was moved in 1928 when they began building the present bridge.

In this photo we see traffic waiting at a stop light just west of the bridge with traffic lining up on the bridge.
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Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Shirahige Bridge across the Sumida River (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Shirahige Bridge across the Sumida River (1)

March 2012 (35.728 Degrees, 139.810 Degrees) Shirahige Bridge
It is almost a mile upstream (past the Sakura Pedestrian Bridge) to the next bridge (a roadway structure).

The Shirahige Bridge is a 554 ft long river crossing that was completed in 1931. Like the other roadway bridges we've recently studied it is 72 ft wide, with four traffic lanes and wide sidewalks. It's an interesting continuous structure with through trusses for the end spans and a truss arch for the center span. Note how the bottom truss chord descends below the deck to support the bridge on concrete caissons. It is similar in form to the Tokyo Gate Bridge (shown on June 24, 2011) except that bridge was much bigger and the end spans were deck trusses.
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Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Shirahige Bridge across the Sumida River (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Sakura Bridge across the Sumida River (3)

March 2012 (35.717 Degrees, 139.807 Degrees) Sakura Bashi
A not very successful attempt has been made to provide an aesthetic treatment for the Sakura Bridge. The light and dark paving stones on the deck are nice and the sloped lamp posts and railing are interesting. However, the white cones are rather unpleasant and so are the golden girders. I think the bridge would be nicer if they just stuck to earth tones and the feeling that we are walking on an old bridge (suggested by the stones and the textured curb).
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Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Sakura Bridge across the Sumida River (3) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Sakura Bridge across the Sumida River (2)

March 2012 (35.717 Degrees, 139.807 Degrees) Sakura Bashi
Continuing upstream the next bridge is the Sakura (Cherry Blossom) Pedestrian Bridge. The bridge has an 'X' shaped steel box girder superstructure, with two hammerhead piers in the river and four seat-type abutments on the riverbanks. The bridge was completed in 1985. It is 556 ft long and has a variable width (about 40 ft wide at the center of the span).

In the Google Earth Photo below we can see that the bridge has changed a little since I last photographed it in 1994 (see my May 27, 2009 blog). Large white cones now sit on the deck where the legs meet. We'll take a closer look at the bridge tomorrow.
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Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Sakura Bridge across the Sumida River (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Monday, April 9, 2012

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Kototoi Bridge from the Deck of the Sakura Bridge

March 2012 (35.717 Degrees, 139.807 Degrees) Sakura and Kototoi Bridges
A view looking back at the Kototoi Bridge (and the Metropolitan Expressway, the Asahi Brewery, the Sumida River, etc,) from the deck of the Sakura Bridge. We'll take a closer look at the Sakura (Cherry Blossom) Bridge tomorrow.
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Sunday, April 8, 2012

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Kototoi Bridge across the Sumida River (2)

March 2012 (35.714 Degrees, 139.803 Degrees) Kototoi Bridge
A closer look at the Kototoi Bridge. We can see the superstructure is composed of four haunched steel plate girders on fixed steel bearings.  The bridge must duck down at the east end to get under the elevated Metropolitan Expressway. Each bridge across the Sumida is unique with a different color, superstructure, railing, and lamppost.

The name of the bridge comes from a short poem (tanka) by Ariwara no Narihira from the 9th century, who came to the Sumida and enquired (kototoi) of the seagulls whether his love still lived.

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Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Kototoi Bridge across the Sumida River (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.