Taihei Bridge, Road bridge in Niigata, Japan

Taihei Bridge is a 932 m road bridge over the Agano River in Niigata, linking Ichinichi in Higashi Ward with Arasaki in Kita Ward. It is a 14-span steel deck truss bridge with a 7.5 m roadway, and a separate 2.5 m pedestrian bridge runs alongside it.

Taihei Bridge opened as a wooden bridge in December 1885; before then, traffic across the Agano River relied on ferries and steam-powered passenger boats. A second wooden bridge followed in 1923 as part of improvements to the National Route 10 section between Nuttari and Shibata. The current steel bridge, the third, was completed in 1951 about 300 m downstream by a joint venture of Yokogawa, Matsuo, Mitsubishi Shipbuilding and Nippon Kokan, and opened on 17 December.

The name comes from the inscription on a monument at the east end, written by Governor Shōhei Okada: the bridge is called Taihei to pray for the safety of those who cross and for peace in the world. The riverside park on the left bank near the bridge has been developed since the 1970s.

Taihei Bridge carries Niigata Prefectural Route 3 between Hitotsuichi in Higashi Ward and Arasaki in Kita Ward. Its roadway has only two lanes and is somewhat narrow, and busy intersections sit at both ends, so congestion and slow traffic occur on weekday mornings and evenings and on holiday afternoons. A separate 2.5 m wide walkway bridge runs alongside on the upstream side.

A stone monument at the east end of the bridge records the origin of its name: a 1951 inscription by then-governor Shōhei Okada states that "Taihei" expresses a wish not only for the safety of those who cross but for peace in the world.