Kyushu Scene News

Concrete access road for inclined shaft – September issue of the site newsletter

Concrete construction has begun on the access road at the Aren Shaft site in Tsushima, progressing to 100m.

In recent years, heavy rain has continued to fall on the Japanese archipelago for several days, resulting in frequent major disasters such as landslides and flooding of houses. Disasters caused by so-called "linear rain belts" have started to occur in Tsushima since last year. At the Japan-Korea Tunnel site, the road surface leading to the tunnel entrance was being gouged by the rain, and mud and sand that had flowed in was accumulating, creating a problem for traffic. In particular, Typhoon No. 5, which hit Tsushima on July 20th of this year, caused the most damage ever to the area, and an evacuation advisory was even issued for Izuhara in central Tsushima.

 

Therefore, construction work is currently underway to repair the damaged road and convert the access road into concrete. First, we decided to cover 500m from the steeply sloped mountain pass to the coast entrance, and have now covered 100m. As a result, we will be able to receive inspection teams in large buses as before.

 

Due to the conflict between the governments of Japan and South Korea that started with last year's "recruited labor" issue, the number of Korean tourists coming to Tsushima has been halted since July of this year, and tour buses have remained parked in the parking lot and guest houses and guesthouses have been closed. The hotel is deserted and the city remains completely quiet. Even so, it is noticeable that Japanese baby boomers, who have been busy traveling abroad, are traveling in groups. If the benefits of the Border and Remote Islands Act extend to Japanese tourists to Tsushima, prosperity should continue for a long time.

 

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[Photo] As of August 31st, concrete paving has progressed to a point 100 meters up from the coast entrance.

 

Meanwhile, inspection teams visited the Japan-Korea Tunnel and Tsushima Aren Shaft site from Hokkaido on August 22nd, Ishikawa Prefecture on the 28th, and Aichi Prefecture on the 29th. This was our second visit to Hokkaido, following last summer, and members of the Promotion Council were impressed by the scale of the International Highway Initiative, as well as, ``I visited for the first time last year and was moved by the splendor of nature.

 

The position of border is the same, and how to deal with neighboring countries is urgent. "I want to go to Kamijima next year," he said. Ishikawa Prefecture also said, ``I have visited the slope shaft site in Karatsu many times, but this is my first time in Tsushima.Tsushima has been connected to the continent and peninsula since ancient times.''

 

Furthermore, five city councilors from Aichi Prefecture attended the tour, and a question-and-answer session was held regarding the feasibility of the project. ``Tsushima is a site surrounded by magnificent nature, and you won't understand until you come,'' he said.

 

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[Photo] Tsushima, Aren slanted mine entrance. Each person was checking the situation at the site.

 

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