All lanes of the Kansai International Airport's access bridge were open to traffic at 6 a.m. Monday, seven months after the bridge was severely damaged by Typhoon No. 21 on Sept. 4 last year.
The 3.8-kilometer-long bridge connecting the island airport to the mainland was temporarily closed to traffic after the typhoon. With Monday's reopening of the three inbound and three outbound lanes, full access was restored.
When the typhoon hit, a tanker carried by strong winds collided with the bridge causing severe damage to a stretch of the outbound lanes used by vehicles traveling to the airport.
Traffic to and from the airport had been restricted to two of the inbound lanes as the outbound stretch was rendered unusable.
West Nippon Expressway Co. removed two bridge beams spanning about 200 meters that were severely damaged in the accident. The company built a new beam to replace one of the two and repaired the other. In February this year, the two beams were installed.
On March 7, two inbound lanes and two outbound lanes were opened to traffic. Work to reconstruct the bridge's central reservation was completed later.
Initially, it was estimated that full access would be restored just before the Golden Week holidays, but the reopening of the bridge's six lanes has been achieved earlier than planned.
A railway line that runs along the bridge was also closed after the typhoon. Trains resumed services on Sept. 18 last year, two weeks after the accident.
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