Sky Gate Bridge R

Sky Gate Bridge R (スカイゲートブリッジR), also known as the Kansai International Airport Access Bridge (関西国際空港連絡橋), serves as a link between the mainland of Osaka, Japan to the artificial island in Osaka Bay on which Kansai International Airport is built. It is the longest double-decked truss bridge in the world. The bridge carries six lanes of automobile traffic on top and two of rail below, over nine truss spans.

Sky Gate Bridge R

スカイゲートブリッジR
Coordinates34.426333°N 135.278361°E / 34.426333; 135.278361
Carries (6 lanes),
 S  Kansai Airport Line,
Nankai Airport Line
CrossesOsaka Bay
LocaleIzumisano, Osaka,  Japan
Official name関西国際空港連絡橋 (Kansai Kokusai Kūkō Renrakukyō)
Characteristics
DesignContinuous truss bridge
Total length3,750 m (12,300 ft)[1]
Width29.5 m (97 ft)
Height25 m (82 ft)
Longest span150 m (490 ft)
History
Opened1991
Statistics
Toll¥920[2]
Location
Kansai International Airport Access Bridge
関西国際空港連絡橋
Route information
Length4.6 km[3] (2.9 mi)
Existed2009–present
Component
highways		 National Route 481
Major junctions
South endRinku Junction
Hanshin Expressway Bayshore Route
Kansai-Kūkō Expressway
in Izumisano, Osaka
North endKansai International Airport Interchange
in Izumisano, Osaka
Highway system
National highways of Japan
Expressways of Japan
View of Sky Gate Bridge R, pictured from the Boeing 737 NG at Kansai Int'l Airport. (November 2013)

Structural specifications

The Sky Gate Bridge is a continuous truss bridge that measures 3,750 meters long, 29.5 meters wide (6 lanes), and 25 meters at its highest point in the center.[1][4]

History

The bridge commenced construction in June 1987, and was completed in March 1994.[1] On 21 April 2009, management of the expressway portion of the bridge was handed over to the West Nippon Expressway Company.[3] This expressway was numbered E71 alongside the Kansai-Kūkō Expressway in 2016.[5]

Typhoon Jebi

The bridge was damaged on 4 September 2018, by Typhoon Jebi. A 2600-ton tanker lost power and was blown into one side, severely damaging half of the automobile lanes and the rail lines.[6] The bridge, being the sole link between the airport and the mainland, stranded approximately 3000 passengers and 2000 staff[7] overnight at the airport. They were evacuated the next day via the Kōbe–Kankū Bay Shuttle (神戸-関空ベイ・シャトル) ferry to nearby Kobe Airport,[8] later joined by buses over the undamaged half of the bridge.[7] The bridge was partially reopened to vehicle traffic on 7 March 2019 with four lanes open.[9] The bridge's full capacity with six lanes of traffic was restored on 8 April 2019.[10]

Junction list

The entire expressway is in Osaka Prefecture. The sequence of kilometer posts continue from the Kansai-Kūkō Expressway.

Locationkm[11]miExitNameDestinationsNotes
Izumisano6.64.13Rinkū Hanshin Expressway Bayshore Route – Osaka, Kobe
Kansai-Kūkō Expressway – Osaka, Wakayama		Southern terminus, E71 continues on to the Kansai-Kūkō Expressway
6.64.14Rinku National Route 481 – to National Route 26
Osaka Prefecture Route 29 east – Kaizuka
Osaka Prefecture Route 63 south – Sennan		Northbound entrance, southbound exit; southern end of National Route 481 concurrency
11.27.05Kansai International Airport Kansai Airport – Domestic Cargo, Observation Hall, Terminal, FerriesNorthern terminus of E71 and National Route 481; toll gate
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References
  1. "About Kansai International Airport". Kansai Airports. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  2. "Road Map and Access Bridge Tolls". Kansai Airports. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  3. "関西国際空港連絡橋（道路）の移管に伴う料金変更について" (in Japanese). 21 April 2009. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  4. "LONG SPAN & NEWER STEEL BRIDGES IN JAPAN". Daido University. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  5. "Japan's Expressway Numbering System". www.mlit.go.jp. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  6. "Ship smashes into Kansai airport bridge as typhoon hits Japan". The Mainichi. 4 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  7. Williams, Martin (7 September 2018). "What Kansai airport flooding can teach Hong Kong about the perils of reclamation amid climate change". South China Morning Post.
  8. "First of 5,000 people stranded by typhoon at Kansai airport evacuated as storm death toll hits 10". The Japan Times. 5 September 2018.
  9. "関西空港自動車道" (in Japanese). Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  10. "関西国際空港連絡橋 ６車線確保について" (PDF) (in Japanese). Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  11. Google (30 October 2019). "Kansai Int'l Airport Access Bridge" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
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