I have been following Highway 125, and now am going to delve into its background from various angles, starting with the bureaucratic. Apparently Highway 125 suffers from traffic congestion at certain points. The solution is to build bypasses to divert some of the traffic away from the major road. Five bypasses are finished and in operation, some are partially built, and several have been in the planning stage for a long time.

From the Ibaraki government:

“The Association for Promoting Improvements on Highway 125, comprising representatives of Tsukuba, Tsuchiura, Shimotsuma cities and Yachiyo town, on 2016-02-02 visited the Prefectural office of the Land and Transportation Ministry, to urge that the Tsukuba East Bypass and the Yachiyo Bypass construction projects commence with all due speed. The response of the Ministry was that the sticking point is in negotiating the purchase of land plots which are under joint ownership, and it urged the Association to have deeper understanding and a spirit of cooperation in resolving the difficulties.”

(the large red and white building to the left above is MGM Pachinko. “Although located in the suburbs, it has a parking lot with 700 spaces, making it convenient to get to by car. Shortly before it opens at 9 AM there are 100 people lined up waiting to get in. The person at the head of the line said he/she had gotten there at 7.”)

“Highway 125 is the major link between south and west Ibaraki prefecture, and is indispensable for the economic life of these areas. However, there are a number of spots where the road is too narrow, and a number of places requiring bypasses and the installation of pedestrian walkways. Out of these, the Association has chosen four sites they wish to see improved within the short term.”

“Number one on their list is that they hope that the route of the “Tsukuba East Bypass” (as it is provisionally called) will be determined and work will proceed as soon as possible. The total length of this bypass will be 9.8 kilometers. However, it also involves building a bridge over the Sakuragawa River at some point. The exact location and preparation for building the bridge must be done first. The Association asked that priority be given to this. In response, the Prefectural Ministry said, “We are proceeding with preparations for the western section of the bypass. We are investigating to determine the optimum site for the bridge, based on traffic conditions and the situation of the area.”

(Hair Pop-In)

“Number two is the Tsukuba Bypass, currently under preparation, but the Association hopes that actual construction will start soon. The prefectural representative said, “ By the end of 2104, the rate of progress was at 83%.This year we will concentrate our efforts on buying up the rest of the necessary land.”

Number three is the stretch between Shimotsuma city and Yachiyo town. Even though traffic is heavy here, the highway is only a two lane road –resulting in long delays. The company in charge, Joso Construction, said they were getting ready, “This year we finished a survey of boring and analyzing the soil, starting from Yachiyo, in preparation to start the project.”

“Fourth on their list is improving traffic intersections and pedestrian walkways in the Yachiyo area. The Ministry related its progress in these areas.

One prefectural adviser touched on the fact that it has been twenty years since the cities had approved the Shimotsuma Ciy and Yachiyo bypasses. “It’s about time we make progress on them,” he commented.

At the end, the Ministry head of the office Watanbe Manabu said, “The main problem is the land under joint ownership. The city and prefectural offices need to share information and support each other’s efforts,” and, “It’s regrettable that we have not made the progress we hoped to make up to now, but from this point we will redouble our energy and try our hardest.”

source: https://www.nikoukei.co.jp/kijidetail/00304097