By MICHINORI ISHIDAIRA/ Staff Writer
October 28, 2019 at 07:10 JST
SAGAMIHARA--Landslides triggered by Typhoon No. 19 have buried sections of the Olympic cycling road race course along National Route No. 413, and city officials say there is no prospect of a quick recovery.
The 5.3-kilometer stretch of the highway between the Aonohara and Aone districts in the city’s Midori Ward has been closed to traffic since landslides hit several dozen areas and the road collapsed at two locations, the officials said.
The area had just recovered from damage caused by Typhoon No. 24 that struck in October last year.
The 68-meter Yokoyama Tunnel on National Route No. 413, which connects Sagamihara in northern Kanagawa Prefecture and Yamanashi Prefecture, opened temporarily on Oct. 1.
The highway section had been closed until April to clear away debris from a landslide that occurred on the Yamanashi Prefecture side of the tunnel during Typhoon No. 24.
But the section was shut down again on Oct. 12 because of another landslide that struck when Typhoon No. 19 made landfall that day.
Many large trees fell on the road on the Sagamihara side of the tunnel, while earth and sand flowed over the guardrails.
“It suffered damage over there last year, and over here this year. It’s a complete wreck,” said a worker of a contractor in charge of clearing the road.
After the Yokoyama Tunnel opened, city officials were aiming to fully reopen National Route No. 413 in March 2020.
But Typhoon No. 19 has put that goal in jeopardy.
“We have no idea when the recovery will be achieved,” an official said.
In Sagamihara’s Midori Ward, about 30 km of roads will be used for the Olympic cycling road race. Competitors will head toward Yamanashi Prefecture through the No. 413 highway on a course that features urban areas and mountain slopes.
In July, 95 cyclists from home and abroad rode through the national route during a test event.
Sagamihara Mayor Kentaro Motomura asked infrastructure minister Kazuyoshi Akaba in Tokyo on Oct. 24 to provide “maximum support” to restore the route at an early date.
He later called for cooperation from the Olympic organizing committee, saying, “We will make preparations as a host city so that the event will not be affected.”
“We will make sure to get National Route No. 413 done right to host the Olympic event no matter what,” Motomura said.
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