Building the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge

The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge is a suspension bridge linking Kobe on Honshu to Iwaya on Awaji Island.

Ferries carried passengers before construction began in 1988. The original plan called for a mixed railway-road bridge.

The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge expands two meters from daily heat.

The Great Hanshin Earthquake struck in January 1995, moving the towers so the central span increased by one meter.

Each main cable is 112 centimeters in diameter and contains 36,830 strands of wire.

The bridge has 1,737 illumination lights using red, green and blue lamps. Computer technology creates twenty-eight patterns. Mood lighting for the ocean.

Drivers pay a toll of 2,300 yen. Approximately 23,000 cars use the six lanes each day.

Crown Prince Naruhito opened it on April 5, 1998. It was the last Japanese megaproject of the twentieth century.