8 MARCH 2024

PRELIMINARY REPORT ON EXPRESSWAY DAMAGE:TWO MONTHS SINCE THE 2024 NOTO PENINSULA EARTHQUAKECHAKRABORTY ANIRBAN・HOSEI UNIVERSITYHISAKAZU SAKAI・HOSEI UNIVESITYBACKGROUND
On 1st January 2024, a strong earthquake(MJMA 7.6) struck
the Noto peninsula area of Japan. The strong ground motions
damaged several sections of the Noto-Satoyama Kaido,
owned and operated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure,
Transport and Tourism (MLIT). On March 4, 2024, a damage
investigation survey was organized by the Japan ResearchInstitute for Road and Street (RIRS) with the support of MLIT
to investigate the damage status of the expressway.

OBJECTIVE
q To investigate the collapse of some embankments
q To investigate the non-failure of some embankments
q To investigating the performance of embankments
retrofitted after the 2007 Noto earthquake

TEAM MEMBERS
Hitoshi Ieda・National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies
Shunichi Kobayashi・Kanazawa University
Seiji Moriyama・Japan Research Institute for Road and Street
Hisakazu Sakai・Hosei University
Xiong Xi・Kanazawa University
Anirban Chakraborty・Hosei Univesity
Satoru Yamaoka・Japan Research Institute for Road and Street
Kenichi Koyama・Japan Research Institute for Road and Street
Yuko Nakata・Hosei University
Yuka Kimura・Hosei University

SURVEY ROUTE AND INSPECTION LOCATIONS

Location 6 (Landslide in Ichinose)
Location 5(R5 opening section ofNoetsu Expressway ）Yokota IC

Locations 1~4(4 locations near Yokota IC)
Survey RouteRoad closed
The base Google map is from March 7, 2024

LOCATION 1
Towards Kanazawa
Towards Kanazawa

Before Earthquake
May 2023

Towards Kanazawa

After Earthquake
March 4 2024

Embankment Collapsee)
lanleng(siingarcleadRo

Towards Anamizu
Towards Anamizu
Towards Anamizu

A large-scale collapse of the expressway embankment was observed. A
single-lane road was cleared for the movement of emergency vehicles.

LOCATION 2Towards Kanazawa

Before Earthquake
May 2023

Towards Anamizu

After Earthquake
March 4 2024

Towards Kanazawa
Large cracks were seen on the road surface inthe yellow zone. There was no evidence of theembankment collapse.

The blue zone marks an area that wasrestored after the 2007 Noto peninsula
earthquake (EQ). No damage was seen
here during this 2024 earthquake.

Retrofitted after 2007 EQ

Towards Anamizu
金沢方面

LOCATION 3Before Earthquake

After Earthquake

May 2023

March 4 2024

Towards Kanazawa

Towards Anamizu

Embankment Collapse

Towards Kanazawa

Towards Anamizu

A large-scale collapse of the expressway embankment was observed. Stagnant
water was visible in the collapsed area. The off-ramp also collapsed.

LOCATION 4
Before Earthquake

After Earthquake

May 2023

March 4 2024

Retrofitted after 2007 EQ
Embankment Collapse

Exposed geotextile from after
2007 EQ retrofit
Collapse of the embankment was observed. However, the collapse
area shares border with an area retrofitted with geotextiles after the2007 Noto peninsula earthquake. The retrofitted area withstood the2024 Noto peninsula earthquake, thus, limiting the extent of thecollapse and preventing a large-scale disaster.

LOCATION 5
Before Earthquake
May 2023

After Earthquake
March 4 2024

Well-maintained drainage
Noetsu Ex

pressway

No collapse or major damage was observed in thisembankment. Well-maintained drainage possibly
helped in quick dissipation of excess pore waterpressure created during excessive shaking.

Slight damage

LOCATION 6
Before Earthquake
May 2023

After Earthquake
March 4 2024Approx. area of landslide

Observed Landslide area

Due to ongoing relief and restoration work, it was notpossible to inspect the site up close.

SUMMARYq The embankments retrofitted after the 2007 Noto peninsula earthquake withstood thestrong ground motions of the 2024 Noto peninsula earthquake. No significant damage
was observed. In the case of Location 4, the retrofitted embankment helped check thecontinuation of collapse and prevented a large-scale disaster.
q The importance of proper drainage in road embankments was recognized. In the Noetsu
Expressway, the well-drained embankment withstood the strong ground shaking.
q The good performance of geotextiles as a retrofitting material was also observed.

REFERENCE
q Official technical information published by MLIT
In Japan, the expressways are under the supervision of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure,
Transport and Tourism (MLIT). Technical information (in Japanese) on expressways is
officially published on their homepage and can be accessed here:
https://www.mlit.go.jp/policy/shingikai/road01_sg_000675.html

Our deepest sympathies are with everyone affected by the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake.
The resilient attitude of the local people in the face of repeated disasters is an example foreveryone. We pray and hope that life gets back to normal soon.

Acknowledgement
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure,
Transport and Tourism for their support on this investigation.