On 30 May, JR Tokai opened the construction site of the Linear Central Shinkansen elevated bridge to the press for the first time. The 21 metre high structure is almost complete. The construction of the elevated bridge will be extended, and guideways and other facilities that will serve as tracks will be laid on the bridge.
Three piers support the 76 metre long and 16 metre wide bridge girders. As I climbed the temporary construction stairs to the top of the bridge, I could see vineyards and houses in the Kofu Basin below.
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The viaduct is about 10 kilometres from Yamanashi Station (tentatively called Kofu City) towards Nagoya, and about 1.5 kilometres to the south-west is the entrance to a series of tunnels leading to the Southern Alps, the western end of the above-ground section of the Kofu Basin. The bridge girder had an upward slope of 25 permils towards the tunnels.
The Linear Central Shinkansen between Shinagawa and Nagoya (286 km) is 86% tunnel, with only about 40 km of the line above ground. The longest above-ground section is about 18 km in the Kofu Basin. Most of the line will be covered by an 8-9 metre high noise barrier, so passengers are unlikely to be able to enjoy the view from the train windows.
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Takahiro Nakagawa, Director of JR Tokai's Yamanashi East Construction Office, said: "The construction work has been carried out in advance with the understanding of local residents and the cooperation of Fujikawa City. We will start construction on other sections as soon as they are ready and do our utmost to ensure the line's early opening. The Linear Central Shinkansen project between Shinagawa and Nagoya was scheduled to open in 2027, but the prospect of starting construction in Shizuoka Prefecture is not promising, making it difficult to open the line by the end of 2015.
Source: Translated info from Nikkei: https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOCC ... 0C2000000/ Accessed: 30 May 2023
