Workers begin cutting a steel pipe protruding from the ground near JR Osaka Station in Osaka’s Kita Ward on March 24. (Shinnosuke Ito)
OSAKA—City workers on March 24 began cutting down a massive steel pipe that jutted up 13 meters from the ground near JR Osaka Station two weeks earlier, disrupting traffic in the central area.
Using cranes and other heavy equipment, crews started the operation to remove the final 1.6-meter section around 10 a.m.
The work is expected to continue into the night, after which a steel plate will be installed to cap the hole.
Officials said traffic restrictions in the area will be lifted once the site is cleared.
A traffic controller first discovered the colossal pipe—weighing 56 tons and measuring 27 meters long with a 3.5-meter diameter—around 6 a.m. on March 11.
It was intended to serve as a vertical shaft for a project connecting a new rainwater storage facility to an existing sewer line for flood control in the city center.
Officials had managed to partially sink the pipe by injecting it with water, reducing the exposed section to 1.6 meters by that evening.
However, the final removal was delayed for two weeks to allow authorities to confirm the safety of the surrounding ground.
The sudden eruption above the surface on March 11 sent chunks of asphalt falling from the pipe’s upper section, striking two passing cars.
After braking hard, a 70-year-old driver and his 30-year-old passenger both sustained cervical sprains expected to take three weeks to heal.
AloJapan.com