Among them, Mayo Chikada (75), who lives in a house about 70 meters from the place where the road collapsed, decided to move to another area next spring.
Ms. Chikada has lived on this land for over 40 years since she got married and 15 years ago she rebuilt her home and lived there with her family.
However, a year ago, a landslide was found in the street near the house and further investigations revealed a cavity in the ground near the house.
The East Japan Expressway, which carried out the construction of the tunnel, will repair the ground in part of the area directly above the tunnel due to the effects of the construction and repair it in about two years. We are currently negotiating a relocation or purchase.
At first, Mr. Chikada was thinking of temporarily returning out of attachment to the area he was used to living in.
However, he was unsure if the construction would be completed within the deadline explained by the operator and decided to move to another area because he was tired of the situation where there was no end in sight.
Mr. Chikada said: “It’s a comfortable place to live and I have a lot of memories, so I have a strong desire to continue living here, but we don’t have the time or mental strength to stay here forever. We’ve had a lot of time. energy over the past two years and we’ve had a lot of road crashes. It made me want to live away from problems, “he said.
On the other hand, Mr. Chikada and the local population continued to ask the operator for explanations on the state of implementation and the risks of the construction of the underground tunnel since before the failure of the road was discovered.
However, it should be noted that there was insufficient explanation in advance about the characteristics of the terrain and the associated construction risks that were clarified by the contractor after the collapse was found.
Mr. Chikada said, “I kept telling him that there was a vibration coming up from below, and that it was weird, but in the end no countermeasures were taken until a collapse occurred. I feel I did. want to tell the risk, “he said.
