Old Tokyo bridge may see the light of day with plans to divert overhead motorway
The transport ministry has unveiled a plan to divert a 2.9km stretch of the motorway above the famous bridge underground
Pressure is growing for Tokyo’s metropolitan authorities to right one of the city’s most flagrant architectural wrongs.
A bridge has stood at Nihonbashi since 1609 and is of historic importance because it is the point from which all road distances to the city have been measured ever since. The present bridge is also famous for its graceful lines, stonework and elegant, old-fashioned lamps.
Unfortunately, the entire bridge is overwhelmed by a four-lane motorway that runs directly overhead and was constructed in 1963 as Tokyo prepared to host its first summer Olympic Games.
There have been calls for arguably the worst wrong to be inflicted on Tokyo’s skyline to be corrected for several years – as far back as 2005, then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi recommended that something be done about the carbuncle – but proposals have always been resisted, primarily on grounds of the massive cost of re-routing some of the busiest roads in the city centre.
Some estimates put the cost at Y500 billion (HK$4.53 billion).
