| Sasago Tunnel | |
| Location: | Yamanashi Prefecture |
| Route: | Chūō Expressway |
| Status: | Operational |
| Start: | Ōtsuki, Yamanashi |
| End: | Kōshū, Yamanashi |
| Opened: | 1977 |
| Closed: | 2012-13 (temporary closure due to ceiling collapse) |
| Owner: | Central Nippon Expressway Company |
| Traffic: | Automobiles Motorbikes |
| Length: | 4.784km (02.973miles) (Tokyo-bound) 4.717km (02.931miles) (Nagoya-bound) |
| Lanes: | 2 uni-directional in each bore |
The is a twin-bore motorway tunnel on the Chūō Expressway located on the border of the cities of Kōshū and Ōtsuki in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan.[1] It is located about 80km (50miles) west of the capital Tokyo.[2] [3] It was built in 1977.[4]
At approximately 8 am on December 2, 2012, nearly 150 concrete ceiling panels inside the Tokyo-bound Sasago Tunnel collapsed, crushing three vehicles, including a van, carrying six persons, that caught fire.[4] [5] [6] The fallen panels were thick and weighed each.[4] The caved-in point was from the Tokyo-side exit and spanned a length of 50mto60mm (160feetto200feetm).[7] Smoke could be seen billowing from the Kōshū entrance to the tunnel.[8]
Nine people died and two were injured, making it the deadliest roadway accident in Japanese history. The tunnel was closed for a period of 27 days for repairs and removal of ceiling panels, before the south tube reopened on December 29.[6] [9] The north tube, where the collapse happened, reopened on February 8, 2013.[10]
The nature of the collapse closely resembled a similar ceiling collapse in the Fort Point Channel Tunnel in Boston, Massachusetts in 2006.