Snowplowing began on a scenic mountain corridor in the Northern Alps in central Japan on Tuesday.
The Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route linking the prefectures of Toyama and Nagano is buried under snow during winter and closed to traffic. Work to reopen the road usually starts around this time of year.
At around 10 a.m., workers from the local snow removal association opened a gate of the road in Tateyama Town, Toyama Prefecture, and began working to clear the road using heavy machinery.
The association says the site has more snowfall than usual this year, and the accumulation near the gate exceeded 2 meters in height, the most in the past decade.
The workers plan to use 22 large snow removal vehicles to clear a 31-kilometer section of the road up to Murodo, which is 2,450 meters above sea level.
One of the features of the mountain corridor is the unique scenery of the route flanked by towering snow walls built after snowplowing.
The workers are aiming to fully open the route on April 15.
An official at Toyama Prefectural Road Public Corporation spoke on behalf of the workers' association. The official said heavy snow that fell last week delayed the start of the work, but it wants to safely carry out the task until the opening in April.
The Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route linking the prefectures of Toyama and Nagano is buried under snow during winter and closed to traffic. Work to reopen the road usually starts around this time of year.
At around 10 a.m., workers from the local snow removal association opened a gate of the road in Tateyama Town, Toyama Prefecture, and began working to clear the road using heavy machinery.
The association says the site has more snowfall than usual this year, and the accumulation near the gate exceeded 2 meters in height, the most in the past decade.
The workers plan to use 22 large snow removal vehicles to clear a 31-kilometer section of the road up to Murodo, which is 2,450 meters above sea level.
One of the features of the mountain corridor is the unique scenery of the route flanked by towering snow walls built after snowplowing.
The workers are aiming to fully open the route on April 15.
An official at Toyama Prefectural Road Public Corporation spoke on behalf of the workers' association. The official said heavy snow that fell last week delayed the start of the work, but it wants to safely carry out the task until the opening in April.
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Summary
Snowplowing commenced on the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, a scenic mountain corridor in central Japan, on Tuesday. The route, connecting Toyama and Nagano prefectures, is typically closed during winter due to heavy snowfall. This year, an unusual amount of snow has fallen, with 2 meters
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ID: 1bd0d309-eacb-4f48-b817-1a7e8c6d1f68
Category ID: nhk
URL: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20250212_02/
Date: Feb. 12, 2025
Created: 2025/02/12 07:00
Updated: 2025/12/08 06:18
Last Read: 2025/02/12 07:49