Since 1980, Thailand’s aggressive investment in social capital development has led to the construction of the country’s national and regional roads. However, by the 2030s, the percentage of infrastructure structures that are more than 50 years old after construction will increase rapidly, and maintenance of bridges is an issue that must be prepared for in advance. In Japan, the Department of Highways (DOH) and the Department of Regional Roads (DRR) of the Ministry of Transportation are responsible for the maintenance and management of national roads and regional roads, respectively. However, since the DOH mainly oversees high-standard roads and bridges with relatively high durability, there has been no systematic preventive maintenance of bridges based on predictions of corrosion progression and effectiveness of corrosion countermeasures, nor is there a maintenance management system that takes into account possible future floods, landslides, and salt damage. Therefore, DOH is required to strengthen its capacity to implement planned preventive maintenance, including the effects of natural disasters, in order to maintain bridge infrastructure at a high quality level.
This cooperation will develop inspection, diagnosis, and reinforcement systems for preventive maintenance of bridges, risk management methods, and human resource development programs, thereby contributing to the establishment of a bridge management system with a multifaceted perspective on disaster prevention and maintenance, and to the continued implementation of efforts to strengthen the resilience of bridges in the Northeast Corridor and the Second East-West Corridor in Thailand, where infrastructure deterioration is significant due to the natural environment, natural disasters, and other factors. This will contribute to the continued implementation of efforts to strengthen the resilience of bridges in the Northeast Corridor and the Second East-West Corridor, where infrastructure deterioration is significant due to the effects of the natural environment and natural disasters, among other factors.
© Source JICA