Tuolumne County, California Bridges: Sourgrass Bridge across the North Branch of the Stanislaus River

June 2013 (38.32169 Degrees, -120.21739 Degrees) Sourgrass Bridge

The Sourgrass Bridge is a three span concrete box girder bridge on wide pier walls across the North Fork of the Stanislaus River. The previous bridge was destroyed by a mudslide in 1997. It looks like the original piers may have been used for the new bridge or maybe floods are a frequent occurrence at this location.

Tuolumne County, California Bridges: Sourgrass Bridge across the North Branch of the Stanislaus River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Niigata Japan's Bridges: Osu Bridge across the U River (3)

August 2007 (37.3635 Degrees, 138.5478 Degrees) Osu Bashi

Although the tall, south abutment had all the embankment damage I didn't see any signs that the waterline was damaged. However, the short, north abutment was covered in water. There's a waterline on each side of the bridge and so they might have repaired the one on the east side of the bridge earlier.

Not only was the north abutment wet, but it looked like the box girder had banged pretty hard into the backwall. Also, note just a single bearing is supporting the superstructure.

Back on the northwest side of the bridge is another plaque giving the pertinent facts about the design and construction of the Osu Bridge. It says 1978 and 1983 which must be the dates when it was designed and constructed.

Niigata Japan's Bridges: Osu Bridge across the U River (3) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Niigata Japan's Bridges: Osu Bridge across the U River (2)

August 2007 (37.3635 Degrees, 138.5478 Degrees) Osu Bashi

The south end of the bridge (with the tall abutment) had a lot more damage than the north end during the 2007 earthquake due to the embankment settling almost two meters and breaking a water line.

Like the other bridges across the U River, the Osu Bridge has pedestals with name plaques that also serve to support the barrier rail. I wonder why they have a fence on the west side of the bridge but not the east side?

Tomorrow we'll take a look under the bridge.

Niigata Japan's Bridges: Osu Bridge across the U River (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Niigata Japan's Bridges: Osu Bridge across the U River (1)

August 2007 (37.3635 Degrees, 138.5478 Degrees) Osu Bashi

The fourth bridge across the U River is a narrow (6 m wide) two-span concrete box girder bridge on a single-column bent and one tall and one short abutment that had more damage than the previous two bridges.  Although the south levee moved very little, the embankment between the levee and the bridge settled a meter and there was damage to the abutment including a leaking waterline.

Niigata Japan's Bridges: Osu Bridge across the U River (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Niigata, Japan's Bridges: Bridges over the Omigawa (4)

August 2007 (37.343 Degrees, 138.482 Degrees) Omigawa Bridges

Another view of the Yoneyama Bridge with the Aumegawa Bridge behind it. The steep valley created by the Omigawa River has created a barrier that the Horukiru Expressway and Highway 8 (and Japan Rail) all cross with bridges.

Niigata, Japan's Bridges: Bridges over the Omigawa (4) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Shinmei Bridge across the Yoko Jikkengawa

March 2012 (35.705 Degrees, 139.819 Degrees) Shinmei Bashi

We have turned south onto the Yoko jikken-gawa (横十間川), which translates as 'Jitsuken beside the river.'  The canal we were just on is the Kita jikken-gawa (北十間川), which translates as 'Jitsuken river north.' Both of these canals were dug during the Edo Period (between 1603 and 1868) when Japan was ruled by the Tokugawa shogunate. Tokyo, which used to be called Edo, was their home and so they conducted many civil works to improve the city, including these canals, perhaps meant to help drain the area.

We passed under the Yanagishima Bridge as we turned into the canal. The next bridge is the blue, three span, steel girder Shinmei Bridge, which I didn't photograph. However the next bridge as we continued south is the Kurihara Bashi, a concrete box girder bridge that crosses the Yokojikken-gawa in a single span. The bridge carries the busy Kasuga Dori Road, which ends on the east side of the river.

The river is lined with apartment buildings. I read somewhere that this area has one of the highest population densities in the world, which seems hard to believe. The river banks are covered in reeds and trees, perhaps to help clean the canal, which used to be poisoned with dioxins.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Shinmei Bridge across the Yoko Jikkengawa by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.