Urato Bridge, Rigid-frame bridge in Kōchi, Japan.
The Urato Bridge (浦戸大橋) is a 1,480 m road bridge over the Urado Bay in Kōchi, completed in 1972. Its main section is a five-span continuous prestressed concrete box-girder bridge with spans of 55 + 130 + 230 + 130 + 55 m, rising 50 m above the water. The bridge has a roadway 6.5 m wide and two 0.75 m sidewalks.
The bridge was built to improve transportation connections across the region and reflects engineering developments in 20th-century Japan. It gained recognition from the Japan Society of Civil Engineers for its construction design.
The bridge's name comes from Urado Bay, which it crosses at a narrow point near the river mouth. Its opening in 1972 replaced the choice between the prefectural ferry and a long detour around Kōchi city, and it is now part of Prefectural Route 14, the Haruno-Akaoka line. Tall fences with a return top, about three metres high, line the railings.
The bridge is accessible by local roads and serves daily traffic in the area. Visitors can view and photograph it from both riverbanks.
The bridge's 230-metre main span made it exceptional when completed in 1972, as no concrete bridge with a span over 200 metres existed at the time. Its guardrails carry tall fences about three metres high, added after repeated suicides by jumping from the bridge.
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