Damage level of road infrastructure and road traffic performance in the Mid Niigata Prefecture Earthquake of 2004

Abstract

The Mid Niigata Prefecture Earthquake of 2004 was an inland earthquake characterized by damage focused in local and mountainous areas. The damage of road infrastructures is also marked by the characteristics of the local area In order to prevent, or reduce earthquake damage in the future, it is important to clarify the characteristics of the damage level and the road traffic performance in the local and mountainous area, and reflect them in future earthquake prevention measures. This paper highlights the damage of road embankments and discusses the effects of road closures on local societies, based on related documents and field investigations. The study also quantitatively estimates the damage levels of road infrastructures, road traffic performances in the local and mountainous areas and the relationships between the seismic intensity scale and both damage level and road traffic performance. From these evaluations, new lessons for future earthquake prevention measures have been obtained.