Didn’t the Edo River once bisect the Gyotoku area? This is the story of Gyotoku Bridge. This bridge spans the Edo River in Ichikawa City. Gyotoku Bridge is a vital part of Chiba Prefectural Route 6. It connects Ichikawa and Urayasu.
The bridge you see before you is not the first Gyotoku Bridge. The original bridge emerged from necessity. In 1919 the Edo River was rerouted. This divided the Gyotoku area into north and south sections. To reconnect the separated parts, a wooden bridge was built in 1920. This was the first Gyotoku Bridge.
The old bridge served for many years. In 1956 part of it was built on the Gyotoku Movable Weir. The old bridge also functioned as a management bridge for the weir. It was about 422 meters long and 7 meters wide. Although long for its time, increased traffic made it narrow. The New Gyotoku Bridge was built downstream to alleviate congestion.
However the Gyotoku Bridge remained important. It still connected the Gyotoku and Yatsumata areas. It carried considerable traffic. Large vehicles, except for buses on fixed routes, faced restrictions.
By 1976 the bridge had only seen minor repairs like sidewalk expansions. Its age became increasingly apparent. In 2011 Chiba Prefecture and the Ministry of Land Infrastructure Transport and Tourism agreed to rebuild it. They decided to replace the bridge slightly upstream from its original location.
After 60 years of use, the bridge showed serious deterioration. Also the levee height on both banks no longer met current standards. The reconstruction aimed to address these issues. Construction of the new bridge began in 2015.
The current Gyotoku Bridge opened on March 10, 2020. Its width increased from 7.45 meters to 12.5 meters. Sidewalks expanded from 1.5 meters to 4 meters. The old bridge was then removed.
Today Gyotoku Bridge continues to carry significant traffic. Buses connecting Urayasu and Yatsumata all use this bridge. It is an indispensable part of the local transportation network.