FY2025 Road Infrastructure Inspection Results Released
Overview
Following amendments to the Road Act and related measures in FY2013, road managers have been required since FY2014 to inspect bridges, tunnels, road appurtenances, and other facilities once every five years. The Road Maintenance Annual Report compiles inspection and diagnosis results and action status through FY2025. It reports on the third inspection cycle, actions on bridges, local government initiatives, surveys for cavities beneath road surfaces, and the number and causes of road collapses.
Key points
- Progress in the third inspection cycle is ahead of the second cycle at the same point.
- The number of bridges rated Condition III or IV has declined.
- The rate at which action had begun on bridges diagnosed as Condition III or IV in FY2020 inspections was 79%.
- There were 9,844 road collapses on roads managed by municipalities in FY2025.
Overview
Following amendments to the Road Act and related measures in FY2013, road managers have been required since FY2014 to inspect all bridges, tunnels, road appurtenances, and other facilities once every five years. The first inspection cycle was completed in FY2018 and the second in FY2023; the third cycle began in FY2024. This annual report covers progress under the periodic inspection system.
The report compiles inspection and diagnosis results, action status, and related information through FY2025. In addition to inspections of bridges, tunnels, and road appurtenances and the condition of bridges, it covers local government initiatives, surveys for cavities beneath road surfaces, and the number and causes of road collapses.
Impact
While the number of bridges over 50 years old is increasing, the number rated Condition III or IV is declining. The report states that repairs and other actions are progressing and that steady progress is being made toward a transition to preventive maintenance.
Bridges rated Condition III or IV are to receive action by the next inspection, within five years, but local governments have been slow to begin repairs and other actions.
Details
In FY2025, the second year of the third inspection cycle, inspection progress was 39% for bridges, 34% for tunnels, and 38% for road appurtenances and other facilities, all above the levels at the same point in the second cycle. The report says that inspection schedules are steadily being made more even.
Condition III means a state requiring action at an early stage, while Condition IV means a state requiring urgent action. Among bridges diagnosed as Condition III or IV in FY2020 inspections, the rate at which local governments had begun repairs or other actions was only 79%.
Local governments' consideration of facility consolidation, removal, or functional reduction has increased every year since the end of FY2019, reaching 97% at the end of FY2025. The Road Maintenance Project Subsidy System supports local governments undertaking these initiatives, and 124 organizations received support in FY2025. Guidelines for consolidating and removing road facilities have also been published to assist local government initiatives.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism surveyed 2,788 km of road surface in FY2025 for cavities beneath the surface, about 12% of the total road length. Repairs and other actions began at all 194 locations where cavities found were judged highly likely to cause road collapses.
In FY2025, road collapses numbered 101 on national roads directly managed by the central government, 1,282 on prefectural roads, and 9,844 on municipal roads. Road collapses have various causes, with road drainage facilities accounting for a large share. In urban areas, collapses caused by utility occupancy objects account for a larger share than across all roads.