Bridges of Japan

A cover from Japan ! 

The stamp on the cover is a Setenant pair of the year 1988 - featuring the Kagawa side of the Seto-Oohashi bridge ! 

The Great Seto Bridge (瀬戸大橋 Seto Ōhashi) is a series of double deck bridges connecting Okayama and Kagawa prefectures in Japan across a series of five small islands in the Seto Inland Sea. 

Built over the period 1978–88, it is one of the three routes of the Honshū–Shikoku Bridge Project connecting Honshū and Shikoku islands, and the only one with railroad connections included. At 13.1 kilometers (8.1 mi), it ranks as the world's longest two-tiered bridge system.

The bridge idea lay dormant for about sixty years. In 1955, after 171 lives were lost when a ferry wrecked in dense fog off the coast of Takamatsu, a safer crossing was deemed necessary. By 1959, meetings were held to promote building the bridge. Scientists began investigations shortly after, and in 1970, the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Construction Authority was inaugurated. However, work was postponed for five years by the "oil shock" of 1973; once the Environment Assessment Report was published in 1978, construction got underway.

The project took ten years to complete at a cost of US$7 billion; 3.646 million cubic meters (128.8 million cubic feet) of concrete and 705,000 tons of steel were used in construction. Although nets, ropes and other safety measures were employed, the lives of 13 workers were lost during the 10 years of construction.  The bridge opened to road and rail traffic on April 10, 1988.

Thanks  reoreo for the awesome cover ! 


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