Chikugo River Lift Bridge

Chikugo River Lift Bridge 筑後川昇開橋
Chikugo River Lift Bridge
Coordinates	33°12′54″N 130°21′43″E
Carries	Rail traffic
Crosses	Chikugo River
Locale	Kyūshū, Japan
Official name	Chikugo-gawa shōkaikyō
Heritage status	Important Cultural Property
Characteristics
Design	vertical lift bridge
Total length	507.2 metres (1,664 ft)
Height	23 metres (75 ft)
Longest span	24.2 metres (79 ft)
History
Construction end	1935
Closed	1987, pedestrian traffic from 1996
Location

The Chikugo River Lift Bridge (筑後川昇開橋, Chikugo-gawa shōkaikyō) is a vertical lift railway bridge across the Chikugo River in Kyūshū, Japan. It was completed in 1935. The bridge has a total length of 507.2 metres (1,664 ft), with a moveable span of 24.2 metres (79 ft) long and a vertical rise of 23 metres (75 ft). It links Ōkawa, Fukuoka with Morodomi, Saga, and previously was part of the Saga Railway Line. When that line ceased operation in 1987 the bridge was closed to traffic. In 1996 it was reopened for pedestrians in response to requests from the public.

A precision miniature model of the bridge, which describes its structure, was exhibited at the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (1937). Today this model is on display at the Railway Museum (Saitama).

The bridge was designated an Important Cultural Property in 2003, and in 2007 it was included in the Mechanical Engineering Heritage as item No.23.

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  Aerial view of the bridge
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  The bridge viewed from the Morodomi side