Sidewalk on Hwy 58 collapses because of corroded drainpipe

A garbage truck got stuck in a sinkhole about 3 a.m. when a part of the sidewalk along Highway 58 collapsed in Ginowan. The driver of the struck made an emergency call to Ginowan Police to report the sinkhole.

According to Ginowan Police, a part of the sidewalk had collapsed and created a one-meter wide and two-meter deep sinkhole. A wheel of the garbage truck was stuck in the hole, but no one was injured.

The site is a sidewalk in front of a Japanese pub. When the garbage truck stopped to pick up the garbage from the pub and tried to restart, the wheel of the truck was stuck. According to Police, a drainpipe under the sidewalk was damaged because of corrosion. Officials at Ginowan Municipal Office Sewage Division suspect that there is a high possibility that hydrogen sulfide generated in the drainpipe had morphed into sulfuric acid that had corroded and damaged the pipe. The repair work on the site was finished Monday afternoon.

According to the Sewage Division, the pipe is 45cm in diameter and made of iron. It and was installed in 1985. Ginowan City has checked the corrosion status of part of the pipe with a camera, however the damaged part had not been examined yet.

According to Japan Sewage Works Association, in general, “Hydrogen sulfide is easily generated from the components of sewage in anaerobic state, and it could deteriorate the pipe by becoming sulfuric acid because chemical reactions. “

Concrete sewage pipes are commonly used throughout Japan, and their useful life is designated to be 50 years in general. Some sewage pipes in Japan are used for more than 50 years, and they are in need of repair or replacing.

18:40 29 Mar , 2024