Akashi Kaikyō Bridge in Tokyo

The Akashi Kaikyō Bridge was known as the Pearl Bridge. It was built as a Suspension Bridge because it has the longest central span of any other suspension bridge in the world at 1,991 metres. it was links between the city of Kobe on the mainland of Honshu to Iwaya on Awaji Island in japan.
 
The construction began from 1988 and ended until 1998 before the announcement for Opening it, which was April 5th, 1998. it was to allow all vehicles from crossing the Akashi Strait. which It carries six lanes of roadway as part of the Honshu-Shikoku Highway. The bridge has a toll that cost 2,300 yen for all vehicles to enter from Awaji Island to Kobe or Kobe to Awaji Island.

Satoshi Kashima

Satoshi Kashima is a Japanese civil engineer and executive director of the Japan Bridge Engineering Centre.
 

He was to be leading the bridge designers and engineers to build the longest suspension bridges in the world.

He built the Kaikyō Bridge known as the Pearl Bridge to be located between the Awaji Island to Kobe in Japan which he completed it and was announces to be Opened on April 5th,1998.
He earned M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in civil engineering from the University of Texas's College in Engineering.

History

Before Satoshi Kashima build the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, boats and ferries carried passengers and sailed them across the Akashi Strait in Japan.
In 1955, two ferries sank because of the experiences in the Akashi strait during a storm killing 168 people.

The Japanese governments was shock and outrage about this and was about to convinced Satoshi Kashima and the Japan Bridge Engineering Center to develop and build plans for a suspension bridge to cross the Akashi strait.

The original plan was to be a mixed railway-road bridge, but when the construction began in April 1988, Satoshi Kashima and the Japan Bridge Engineering Center had to restricted the road only, due to a six lanes plan.

The bridge was then opened for traffic on April 5, 1998. The Akashi Strait is now an international waterway that necessitated the provision of a 1,500 metre wide shipping lane.

Suspension Bridge

A suspension bridge is the deck of the bridge that hangs below the suspension cables on vertical suspenders between the towers.

Vertical suspender cables also carry the weight of the deck below, upon which traffic crosses.

This will allows the deck to be level or to arc upward for additional clearance. Like other suspension bridge types, this type often is designed without false work.

Bridges without vertical suspenders would have a long history in many parts of the world.

Outside Tibet and Bhutan, where the first type of bridges were built in the 15th century.

The bridge Tourism

Satoshi Kashima have built a tourist attraction on The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge for the tourist to view the city landscape of Awaji Island a Kobe.

He also built two parking spaces near the bridge, he named them ‘Maiko and Asagiri’ and Both can be reached accessible to the coastal train line.

He also including a small museum in Maiko.

My conclusion to this bridge

 
Satoshi Kashima did a good job of building the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, a Pearl Bridge and Suspension Bridge built over the Akashi strait.

Which allows all vehicles to travel between Awaji Island and Kobe instead of taking the ferries in the dangerous strait.

Also allowing tourist view the landscape of the two city while their vehicles can be parked in two parking space in Maiko and Asagiri near the bridge.

Except the cost on the bridge is too expensive, which Satoshi Kashima could reduces the prices for tourist to not waste their money in travelling the two cities.