Tokyo Gate Bridge 東京ゲートブリッジ |
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![]() Tokyo Gate Bridge, January 2015
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Coordinates | 35°36′41″N 139°49′38″E / 35.61139°N 139.82722°ECoordinates: 35°36′41″N 139°49′38″E / 35.61139°N 139.82722°E |
Carries | Road traffic (4 lanes), pedestrians |
Crosses | Tokyo Bay |
Locale | Kōtō City (Tokyo, Japan), between Chubo and Wakasu artificial islands) |
Characteristics | |
Design | cantilever bridge |
Total length | 2,618 metres (8,589 ft) including approaches |
Width | 21 metres (69 ft) |
Height | 87.8 metres (288 ft) |
Longest span | 440 metres (1,440 ft) |
Number of spans | 3 |
Clearance below | 54.6 metres (179 ft) |
History | |
Construction begin | 2002 |
Construction end | 2011 |
Opened | 2012 |
Statistics | |
Toll | None |
Tokyo Gate Bridge (東京ゲートブリッジ Tōkyō gēto burijji?) is a truss cantilever bridge across Tokyo Bay in Kōtō, Tokyo, Japan. It opened on 12 February 2012 with an estimated total construction cost of ¥113,000,000,000 (equivalent to ¥113,340,000,000 in 2013) for the Stage II section of highway including the bridge.
Part of a new four-lane highway ringing Tokyo, construction began in 2002 and was scheduled for completion in 2011, but the opening to traffic was delayed until 2012. With the provisional name of Tokyo Bay Waterfront Bridge (東京港臨海大橋 Tōkyōwan rinkai ōhashi?) the public was asked for suggestions. From the 12,223 received, "Tokyo Gate Bridge" was chosen and officially announced on 15 November 2010.
The rather unusual design is a result of opposing requirements: to be high enough to allow large ships to pass underneath, but low enough not to interfere with air traffic to the nearby Haneda Airport. It is a double cantilever bridge, which means that the truss sections from either side can be completed in balance, and then joined by addition of the relatively short central span. In effect, this bridge is a somewhat gawky deformation of a single span of the iconic Forth Bridge in Scotland. A more fanciful view, of the two sides being monsters facing off, has given it the nickname of 'Dinosaur Bridge' (恐竜橋 Kyōryū-bashi?)