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Concrete has come this far
Concrete embankment along the Nishemeya Road. 99.10.29/Temperature: 8C/ Weather: Partly cloudy / Wind Direction: NW
Start: Tsurube Tunnel, Aomori and Akita Prefecture border / Latitude: 40 26 21 N / Longitude 140 19 08 E
Destination: Fujisato / Latitude: 40 18 31 N/ Longitude: 140 17 32 E
Distance Traveled: 23 kmOver the past two days I have traveled through what used to be a remote area of the Shirakami Mountain Range. To my surprise the former logging road is gradually beginning to resemble many of the concrete and asphalt hardened roads that I have traveled thus far. The road and the adjacent mountainside was all covered in concrete and asphalt!
Tall cedar, beech, Japanese oak, maple, and walnut trees lined the valley walls descending into the mountain village of Fujisato. The sharp green of cedar mixed contrasted drastically with the rusty reds and bright yellows of beech, oak and maple. The cool autumn breeze and blue skies made for a perfect day to trek through the mountains. Looking at one large beech, the tree's appearance told a story of its long and weathered life.
The silence of the early morning mountains was interrupted by the busy noise of road construction. During my travels, there have been few days without encountering some kind of road construction. Today was no exception except I did not suspect to find full-scale construction going on in the depths of the forest.
"There are many innovations made by construction technology," said a construction worker I met in Hokkaido. "We have developed ways to build safe roads in both hard and soft soils, through mountains and over seas. We are also adopting to environmental needs by planting grasses and trees," he continued. Technology in Japan to develop roads is no doubt advanced. I simply wonder if construction will go on until there is no more space pave.
Road workers attach nets to the verticle roadside to prevent falling rocks. Road workers lined the roadside. Giant steel nets stretched 20 meters up into the air dangling from a crane. Workers at the top of the hillside prepared to bolt in the net. Walking along the winding road one can see how the mountains have been carved out to make way for the road. Concrete embankments stretched straight up along the roadside.
"The road used to be just wide enough for loggers to get through," said the gate guard south of all of the road construction. "There were no injuries on this road in the past but in another couple of years the road will be complete and accessible to tourists. The road will be widened and some of the curves will be taken." It wasn't clear to me what the merits of spending billions of yen and significantly effecting the environment would be. It may take a little longer to travel but tourists might be just as happy with the old logging road.
Finding that this technology is extending to even remote corners of the countryside got me very concerned about when the pavers will stop. Noise pollution, destruction of ecosystems, and locking wildlife into confined space all occur in the process of such large-scale construction. The technology of road building is doubt a clever innovation. How humans put such technology to use may be were human wisdom comes into play.
What do all of you think.
Greg
PS. Japan is said to be one of the largest consumers of concrete worldwide. Much of the country's roadsides as well as the seaside have been paved. I have received plenty of homework from all of you. Now it's my turn. I would like to give you an assignment to look up how much concrete each of your countries consume yearly.
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