2020. 10. 1

Japan Society of Civil Engineers
International Activities Center

IAC News No.96
Conservation Project of the U.K.'s Oldest Active Road
Suspension Bridge (Union Suspension Bridge)- Background to the Large-Scale Restoration Work andConservation Project In the previous issue (No. 95), we reported on the presentation of a plaque from the Japanese, British, andAmerican Society of Civil Engineers to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the construction of the world's
oldest suspension bridge, which celebrated its bicentennial anniversary on July 26. In this issue, we will take alook at the background up to the beginning of the conservation project that was started to mark the bridge’s 200thanniversary.
The Civil Engineering Heritage Value of the Union Suspension Bridge
The Union Suspension Bridge, which links the borders
between Scotland in the north of the United Kingdom andEngland, is the first suspension bridge to have seen the fullyfledged use of wrought iron for the suspension materials. Thewidth of the bridge is 5.5 m, and its span of 133 m (cable spanof 136 m) was the longest in the world up to the completion ofthe United Kingdom’s Menai Suspension Bridge 6 years later.
Although there was a 2 ton weight limit, it had been
continually used as the oldest active road suspension bridgethat allowed cars to pass over it. As the world’s oldest active
road suspension bridge, it has even been registered in theGuinness World Records.

View of Union Suspension Bridge Taken from aDrone (photo provided by Mr. Roland Paxton)
The left side is Scotland, the right side is England, andthe River Tweed between the border of the twocountries flows in the direction towards the top of thephoto to the North Sea.
©Jim Gibson/The Friends of the Union Chain Bridge

The historical significance of the Union Suspension Bridgefrom a civil engineering point of view lies in it being the starting point of the development of modern suspension
bridges; from numerous bridge’s which have held the mantle of the world’s longest suspension after the Union
Suspension Bridge in 1820, right up to the 1991-meter-long Akashi Kaikyo Bridge constructed in 1998. Whatachieved this was the fully-fledged use of iron for the suspension materials of the structure, and it can be said tobe the starting point for modern suspension bridges that paved the way for Akashi Kaikyo Bridge. For Japan, acountry that boasts the world’s longest suspension bridge at the start of the 21st century, the Union Suspension
Bridge carries great significance in terms of its civil engineering history.

1History of the World’s Longest Suspension Bridges- From the Union Suspension Bridge to Akashi Kaikyo Bridge-

How the Union Suspension Bridge Overcame Possible Closure
Until the start of the large-scale restoration works that began recently, asreported in the previous issue, there was an academic collaboration to assess thebridge’s civil engineering heritage undertaken by three academic societies thatoffered support in terms of helping to acquire funds for the restoration work.
The world’s oldest active road suspension bridge has seen aging advance mostnotably in recent years, with parts of the bridge suffering severe deterioration.
In 2007, there were multiple incidents where the hangers became disconnectedfrom the bridge. Although the bridge has undergone temporary repairs and has
remained open with a weight limit, because a lack of funds for full-scale
restoration meant it was difficult to guarantee the future safety of those using
the bridge, it was rumored that the bridge may have had to have been closed inthe near future. The National Trust, on the other hand, designated it as ‘Heritageat Risk’ (a cultural heritage site at risk of being lost forever) and encouraged afull-scale conservation and restoration project for the bridge to live on.
Cooperation in Valuing Civil Engineering Heritage
The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) supported these activities from an academic perspective of civilengineering heritage conservation, and because it was necessary to show the universal value of civil engineering
heritage in order to make full-scale conservation a reality, individuals related to civil engineering history at
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE) were invited tocooperate to gain international support to help breathe new life into the bridge.
Although each of the three societies in Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States has their own criteria
for assessing civil engineering heritage, the three societies reached a unanimous decision regarding the civilengineering heritage assessment of the world’s oldest active road suspension bridge that links to modern daysuspension bridge technology. How to make this fact widely known to the general public was an issue thesesocieties faced when joining forces.
2The Society of Civil Engineers of the aforementioned three countries were a great help in securing funds for therestoration work by explaining to the National Lottery Heritage Conservation Fund (NLHF) about the value ofthe civil engineering heritage of the world’s oldest existing road suspension bridge and how highly renowned it
is internationally. The setting of the bridge as an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark (IHCEL) inthe review stage proved to be a big plus in securing funds for the project.
Large-Scale Restoration Work
The large-scale restoration work that began incelebration of the 200th anniversary since thebridge was first constructed will see the anchorage,
a pivotal part of the structure of the suspension
bridge and for which its movement had beenpreviously reported, replaced with new lockanchors. The wooden decking will also becompletely replaced. The masonry towers will also
be filled and reinforced, including replacement ofsome of the stones that make it up. The chain cables
and hangers will be temporarily detached, and uponcarrying out a detailed inspection of them at a plant,

Masonry Tower and Anchorages on the Scotland Side of theBridge

they will be repaired if necessary and any damaged
parts will be replaced with new ones. The painting of the iron parts is scheduled to done to recoat them to matchthe bridge’s original shade as it was in 1821. The wire cables, however, which were added in 1902 in order tostrengthen the very top part of the bridge, do not contribute to reinforcing it and are scheduled to be removed toreturn the bridge back to its original form.
At the site of the bridge, the bridge that has connected Scotland and England for over 200 years will betemporarily removed, leaving behind only the towers. When the restoration work is completed in November nextyear, the International Historical Civil Engineering Landmark (IHCEL) commemorative plaque, which waspresented jointly by the Japanese, British, and American Society of Civil Engineers as reported in the previousissue, will be officially installed at the foot of the bridge.
【Reported by Hiroshi Isohata, Dr. Eng., IAC member, Vice Chair of the Committee of Conservation ofEngineering Heritage, JSCE, A former professor of Nihon University】

3Committee on Structural Engineering
The Committee on Structural Engineering was initially established as the Bridge Structure
Committee in 1953 as a point of contact for the International Association for Bridge andStructural Engineering (IABSE). In 1971, the Bridge Structure Committee was divided
into two separate committees: the Committee on Steel Structures and the Committee on
Structural Engineering. Since then, while moving with the times, the Committee on
Structural Engineering has been engaged in activities for the planning, designing, andmaintenance of social infrastructure facilities and structures such as roads and railways, asProf. Hiroshi

well as the research and development of the infrastructures and advanced technologies that Katsuchi（The Chairsupport them. In particular, the Committee has a long history of holding structural of Committee on
Structuralengineering symposiums (the Committee’s 66th symposium was held in 2020) and issuing Engineering）
annual bridge reports (Bridges in Japan, a publication which was first published in 1967).
There are many sub-committees within the Committee. The permanent sub-committees of the Committee canbe roughly divided into three education sub-committees responsible for ongoing education and so on, threeeditorial sub-committees for editing committee papers, etc., and five liaison sub-committees in charge of contact
and collaboration with other academic societies. There are also research sub-committees and special research
sub-committees that conduct research on specific topics.
In recent years, the Committee has put together the ‘Common
Specifications of Civil Engineering Structures’ (first edition releasedin 2010, with the revised edition released in 2016) to show the basics
such as common matters that go beyond materials and structures, theroles and responsibilities of engineers, structural plans, andperformance and effects, etc. In addition, with the deterioration ofinfrastructure and heightened awareness of maintenance, theCommittee had been conducting research on maintenance technologies
and tests, however, the ‘Infrastructure Health Check’ issued by theJapan Society of Civil Engineers from 2016 saw the StructuralEngineering Committee take charge of the bridge department.
Furthermore, in 2019, the Committee published the ‘Introduction toStructural Engineering for Bridge Maintenance’, which explains theknowledge of structural engineering required for practitioners ofbridge maintenance. The Committee is also working on theadvancement of bridge maintenance (Photo 1 and 2)
The Committee is also actively engaged in activities related to international cultural exchange, and theInternational Education Sub-committee continues to hold the ‘International Summer Program’ for international
students (Photo 3), providing seminars related to the planning, design, construction, and maintenance ofstructures. The Committee also holds ‘joint seminars’ through an open call for participants from the International4

Committee, holding seminars in Bangkok in 2003, 2012, and 2018 on the topics of bridge design and the effectsof impacts, etc.

Photo 3 International Summer Program (2018 FacilityTour)

Photo 2 Workshop for Introduction to StructuralEngineering for Bridge Maintenance【Reported by Prof. Hiroshi Katsuchi, The Chair of Committee on Structural Engineering】

The “Talking about 'working in the field of civilengineering in Japan' from various perspectives” （2/3）
The previous part in this series saw us take a look at the profiles of the discussion members and their reasons forcoming to Japan. This time, we will focus on the different backgrounds of the members, their employment andwork experience in Japan, and their views and suggestions about the Japanese civil engineering industry gained
from their experience. This article is packed with hints and will no doubt be of great interest to you all.
■ Civil engineering skills and cultural exchange experience gained through work in Japan
Binh: Coming to Japan has taught me to be able to see my homecountry objectively. I noticed that there are various ways ofthinking, with differences in the ways of thinking and systems
and so on between Vietnam and Japan. Through the internships
and part-time jobs I experienced when I was a student, I learned
the meaning behind and enjoyment of going out into society
and working. The knowledge and skills I learned at university
are serving me in my current job.
Mr. Binh（left） and Mr. Lee（right）

Getting a job and having seen the fierce international
5competition out there, I think the biggest strength of Japanese companies is their ‘ability to see things through’,for example, the ability and attitude to complete a project according to the client's wishes as much as possible.
Recently, I feel that the momentum of design offices in Japan is fading. To date, a large number of foundation
drawings and structural drawings had been produced in Japan, but recently, labor shortages have seen large jobs
be outsourced to Indonesia and India.
Lee: I got the qualifications to become a professional civil and structural engineer in Korea. I came to Japan withthe aim of taking my career and skills to the next level. I was anxious at first, but now I am glad that I was able
to experience two societies in the form of Korea and Japan. As an individual and a researcher, I make it my job
to play the role of a liaison between Japan and Korea. Nowadays in the sellers’ market amid the labor shortagein Japan, it is a good idea, for example, to make good use of university systems such as study abroad programs
and graduate schools to connect Korean universities and Japanese companies. Japanese companies will find it
easier to secure talented individuals, and Korean students will have more options after they graduate, which will
no doubt be beneficial to both parties. Someone like me who has experienced both life and work in Japan andKorea can act as a middleman between the two.
Ha:I learned about Japan through the social contribution activities
and volunteer activities I experienced during my time atuniversity, and began to think that I would like to serve as a bridge
between Japan and Vietnam. I have always admired Japan’s civilengineering technology and safe and reliable monozukuri(manufacturing). After coming to Japan for the first time, I was
surprised at the high level of awareness regarding safety there isin this country. For example, at my company (Central Nippon
Expressway Company Limited), safety is our top priority, andMr. Eakarat（left） and Ms. Ha（right）

everything is kept well organized even at small work sites. I wantto make Japanese site management and consideration for safety the norm in Vietnam.
Eakarat: Having worked in Japan, I have all-round experience in the field of specialized prestressed concrete(PC) bridges, from fundamental research to design and construction as well as maintenance. I am also engaged
in aging-related work, and can use the experience and skills that I have gained in Japan for the benefit of othercountries as well. I would like to continue to contribute to developing the infrastructure of both countries bytaking advantage of my expertise.
Binh: In terms of serving as a ‘bridge’, I think about not only ‘being a bridge between Japan and one’s homecountry’, but also ‘being a bridge between Japan and the world’. I understand the needs of clients aiming toexpand their business overseas, and work with designers and builders to create something greater than what they
ask for. This is the ability and attitude that I learned while studying abroad, and it is the value that we can allcontribute.
What is ‘obvious’ in Japan does not translate overseas. For example, when drawing up specifications in English,
saying ‘this is the typical Japanese way of doing things’ does not clear things up, with overseas orderers unable
to understand the specifications. I think that what we think of as being ‘obvious’ makes it difficult to introduce
or transfer skills overseas.
6The members of this discussion studied abroad in Japan before finding employment and continuing to live inJapanese society. They see, through first-hand experience, the differences between Japan and their homecountries. This means they have an understanding of the rules, culture, customs, and good points and bad pointsof both. Because of engineers like the members in the discussion, we will be able to achieve exchanges between
Japan and their home countries, as well as other countries, on a personal and technical level, and contribute to
the development and improvement of infrastructure in each country and region. There seems to be much, much
more we can learn from them.

Updates◆Concrete Committee Newsletter No.60 (October 2020)
http://www.jsce.or.jp/committee/concrete/e/newsletter/newsletter60/index.html◆The 2020 International Conference on Sustainable and Innovative Infrastructure (ICSII 2020)
https://www.icsii.net/◆ASCE Lifelines Conference 2021
https://samueli.ucla.edu/lifelines2021◆The Second International Conference on Press-in Engineering (ICPE) 2021, Kochi: https://icpe-ipa.org/◆jhappy - JICA’s Grant Aid Cooperation Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jhappy20161110/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jhappy_official◆The International Infrastructure Archives– A Compilation of Japan’s Greatest Projects in Transfer of Civil
Engineering Technology in Service –http://www.jsce.or.jp/e/archive/◆IAC “News Pick Up!!” on the JSCE Japanese website
http://committees.jsce.or.jp/kokusai/iac_dayori_2020◆Summary of featured articles in JSCE Magazine Vol. 105, No.10,October 2020
http://www.jsce-int.org/pub/magazine

Spanning the Centuries
It is published in commemoration of the 200th
anniversary of Union Chain Bridge.

◆Journal of JSCE : https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/browse/journalofjsce§ IAC News Subscription §The IAC News is one of the communication tools to share information and ideas with the members. We would like to invite
you, your friends and colleagues to join the communication and to subscribe the IAC News. Please register online:(http://www.jsce-int.org/node/150). We look forward to meeting you.
§ IAC Facebook §Recent activity of International Activities Center is introduced on this Facebook. Please see this home page(https://www.facebook.com/JSCE.en).
Comments and Questions
Please send us your feedback and comments to help us improve the IAC news. We look forward to hearing from you.
JSCE IAC: iac-news@jsce.or.jp

7