Feature

East Nippon Expressway Company Limited - An interview

 

 

28 April 2011

 

So far, more than 25 million portions of foodstuffs had reached the ares affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, along with 7.8 million bottles of water, almost 233,000 boxes of medicines and 15.4 million litres of fuel. This would not have been possible without a functioning road network. We recently interviewed Mr Wataru Suzuki, an official of NEXCO East, the main operator of expressways and toll roads in Eastern Japan, concerning its repair activities following the Great East Japan Earthquake.

 

 

 

Could you tell us what NEXCO East does?

 

NEXCO East engages in the construction and operation of expressways and running service stations in Eastern Japan, encompassing Kanto, Nagano, Niigata, the Tohoku region and Hokkaido. This involves managing around 3,600 km of expressways and working ceaselessly and with the utmost care, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to ensure that users experience the maximum safety, peace of mind, comfort and convenience. In the normal course of our work we carry out regular patrols and inspections, and in cases where there is damage caused by traffic accidents or natural calamities (such as when the guard rail has been destroyed or the roadside embankment has been compromised by heavy rain) we carry out emergency works so as to have the temporary driving restrictions lifted as quickly as possible. At times such as the massive earthquake which struck recently, we devote ourselves to carrying out the temporary work that will enable emergency vehicles safely to use the road and then move on to carrying out the long-term emergency rebuilding work as quickly as possible.

 

What was the scale of the damage to the expressway caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake?

 

A total of 870 km of road was damaged on this occasion, including 350 specific locations over a wide area. There was damage from such areas as bridge joints made uneven, large cracks on the road surface and the collapse of embankments. However, due to the lessons learned from the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995, measures had been taken to strengthen bridges so that they could withstand earthquakes, so there was no structural damage of the sort that could have had fatal consequences.

 

Photographs of the repairs carried out to the Joban Expressway were featured in the British press, with the speed of the work attracting much interest. How was it possible to complete the work so quickly?

 

Let me make it clear first of all that it was not due to our use of special technology or machinery. At all of the 350 affected places, we managed it by simply putting everything we had into identifying the particular situation, mobilising the personnel, resources, machinery and materials, starting the work speedily, overseeing it diligently throughout and finishing it promptly. In fact, in the place in question, for around 150 metres one could see where the road itself had collapsed or sagged almost two metres from its normal position. I think it is worth making the following points:


(1) By making emergency agreements with competent contractors, we were able to finish the work quickly.
(2) The place in question was near the local management office, so the workers were able to get there quickly.
(3) After removing the dislodged earth, we used rubble rather than earth and thus shortened the time required for the compacting process.
(4) Through cooperation with neighbouring landowners, we were able to secure sites for temporary storage of the dislodged earth and yards for the operational machinery.

 

Could you tell us about the actual repair procedure?

 

Because the intensity of the tremors measured by the seismographs at the toll booths functioned as a benchmark for stopping traffic, the message 'road ahead closed' was quickly conveyed from the traffic control centre to the information boards at the roadside and in the toll booths, enabling regular traffic to leave the expressway at the nearest exit. Moreover, based on the information from the traffic control centre, traffic control teams mounted regular patrols to check the damage on the road surface while local staff were able to carry out emergency technical checks on the road structure.

 

As a result, instances of damage were noted and the precise degree of damage ascertained, with consideration being given to the best means by which the teams on the spot could carry out temporary and emergency repairs. Such deliberations included using rubble instead of earth, securing operational yards through cooperation with local people and getting the work done through emergency contracts with competent local contractors, by which means we were able to mount 24-hour operations and actually complete the emergency repairs in three days.

 

I daresay there may be many other problems to face, such as aftershocks. Could you outline some of the difficulties you face in the repair work?

 

Because this disaster resulted in damage to 870 km of road in 350 specific locations, we had to approach the repair work from various, geographically spread-out locations. Moreover, because strong aftershocks continued, we had to deal with circumstances such as new damage to an area we had already repaired and the worsening of existing cracks. Immediately after the catastrophe, for a while we had difficulty with communications including a temporary halt to the telephone service.

 

How much progress has been made so far in repairing the expressway?

 

Of the 870 km of expressway that sustained damage in the earthquake on 11 March, emergency repairs have been completed on 853 km, or about 98 per cent as of 28 April 2011.

 

 

 

 
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