The Yamba Dam – another megalomaniacal project 58 years in the making…
January 4, 2010 by Juergen Specht · 5 Comments
The Japanese Yamba Dam Project in Naganohara, Gunma Prefecture, is already 58 years in the making with a project cost exceeding 900 billion yen… and a recent decision by the government probably stopped this project right in its tracks.
You can find the entire history of this project on several different sites, so I don’t repeat it all here and share instead some pictures from my visit.
The pictures I saw of the unfinished 100 meter high No. 2 Yamba Dam bridge made me curious enough to check it out myself.
Construction of he No. 2 Yamba Dam bridge
My understanding was that the entire construction was suspended, but if fact they just stopped the construction of the dam itself, but try to finish the surrounding infrastructure, including this bridge.
An abandoned scarecrow in the shadow of the bridge
The most famous pictures of the bridge were probably the ones from summer 2009, showing only a T-shaped structure in the landscape, but they are much further now.
An empty rice field beneath the bridge
They decided for an unusual construction technique, starting with the supporting stems and building it balanced to both sides until they can join the individual parts.
Taken from the future ground of the artificial lake
Today they are just days away from joining the separate parts together.
The bridge under construction from above
With a height of 100 meter, its quite impressive how it hovers over the landscape…
…of course you have to realize that it (at least in theory) will stand just a few meter over the planned water level and most of my pictures were taken from the future ground of the artificial lake.
An abandoned car waits to get flooded
Most of the families living in the soon-to-be flooded village gave already up their houses and only a few foundations remained.
Only foundations remain where once families lived
A dead tree next to the bridge
The artificial lake will flood a village, shrines and cemetaries
The highly acidic river, soon to be a lake
2 parts of the bridge get joined in the middle
The bridge is an impressive sight, probably even more so if it will stand as high as now. Should the dam be built, it will be just another bridge while the deep water will hide the 100 meter tall stems. I am curious if they really stop this project after 58 years…
Impressive.
Looks really a bad project to take 60 years…
Juergen, thanks for reminding us that the US isn’t the only country to build wasteful projects.
But at least in the US, that cemetery and all of its occupants and gravestones would be relocated, not submerged.
Mike
They will (if they ever finish building it) relocate the occupants, not submerge them…that would be too cruel! But then again, who knows…
people, you’re nothing but amateurs… ;)
here in italy our beloved prime minister, silvio berlusconi, is looking for a way to appear in future’s history books.
his idea? a bridge over the messina strait.
a 3km bridge over one of the most active earthquake zone in the world (mount etna is like 50km away) connecting two depressed, underdeveloped and 100% mafia controlled areas…
Wow! I hope he gets it built! I want to photograph when it explodes, it must be spectacular! ;)