東大橋, Steel bridge in Hiroshima, Japan

The Higashi-Ohashi Bridge is a steel structure spanning the Sarugamigawa River in Hiroshima that connects two parts of the city. Its recent renovation improved both traffic flow and pedestrian pathways across the waterway.

The original bridge was built in 1933 and survived the atomic bombing on August 6, 1945, becoming a vital escape route for injured residents. It played a central role in reconnecting the city during its reconstruction period.

The bridge carries Hiroshima Prefectural Route 164 (Osu-dori) from its north end, and on the right bank stand Hijiyama Hospital and Hiroshima Municipal Hijiyama Elementary School. Until the Nihobashi was built in 1966, it was the furthest downstream crossing over the Sarugamigawa, so traffic from Hiroshima Station converged here.

The bridge carries the road across the Sarugamigawa between the north-bank junction, where a straight route leads to Ozu-dori (Hiroshima Prefectural Route 164), and the right bank near Hijiyama Hospital and Hijiyama Elementary School. Peace Bridge lies upstream; a viaduct of the Hiroshima Expressway Route 2 runs downstream.

The 1962 steel bridge was replaced in 2019 at a cost of about 2.5 billion yen, and the old piers were not kept: the downstream piers of the earlier bridge were removed in 2009. Until the Nihobashi was built in 1966, this was the furthest downstream bridge over the Sarugamigawa.