Going further afield again, this time to China. It's no secret that China is the world's hottest economy right now. The Chinese are flexing that muscle in the same way that America did in the 1950s - they're building massive amounts of freeway (known as gonglu in Chinese). By the end of the next decade, China will have more freeway miles than the United States and drivers will be able [...]
The Nihonbashi (which translates to "Japan Bridge") is decrepit bridge huddled under an elevated expressway, and spanning a little polluted river. Why is it important? Not only is it the site of Japan's oldest stone bridge it's also the nation's zero milestone and the starting point for a whole slew of national routes - including 1, 15, and 4 (signed) and 2,3,6 and 7 (on paper). The bridge sits [...]
Yokohama is about 30 miles south of Tokyo and is Japans' second largest city. The two cities, the nations' largest, were connected by one freeway until the late 1980s. The government could not figure out where to put a reliever route, so in true Japanese fashion, they built one in the coolest way possible - my making a bunch of islands connected by cable stayed bridges, tunnels, and 10-story high [...]
Presenting: The Aqua Line! Little known outside of Japan and civil engineering circles, it is one of the coolest things in Japan to see. Not just because of the road, but because of the amazing view. The Aqua-Line is a bridge-tunnel complex that spans Tokyo Bay. It's a very important part of the regional road network because it connects the country's major international airport at Narita in Chiba Prefecture (east) [...]
While most of Japan is served by "National Routes" with the upside-teardrop shape (see the previous Japan post) Tokyo's Expressways are called "Shuto Expressways" and are managed by a different company, and have different route markers and different construction styles, different signs, all that. The routes even have their own numbering system. You can get a good map here (click) - it's in Japanese but as maps go, it's fairly [...]
I got to spend the last week and some in Japan, mostly Tokyo but with some time in rural Chiba and Kanagawa Prefectures. The freeway system in Tokyo is subpar for being the largest city in the world (or one of them) - but what's there is astounding. Lots of double decker elevated jobs winding through skyscrapers. There will be 6 Japan posts, this one is just a primer on [...]
