Editing Akashi Kaikyo Bridge (section)

===Background===

The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge forms part of the [[Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway]], the easternmost route of the [[Honshū–Shikoku Bridge Project|bridge system linking the islands of Honshu and Shikoku]].<ref name=Ogihara /> The bridge crosses the [[Akashi Strait]] (width 4&nbsp;km) between Kobe on Honshu and Iwaya on [[Awaji Island]]; the other major part of the crossing is completed by the [[Ōnaruto Bridge]], which links Awaji Island to Ōge Island across the [[Naruto Strait]].<ref name=Ogihara />

Before the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge was built, ferries carried passengers across the Akashi Strait. A  major passageway for shipping, it is also known for its gales, heavy rain, storms, and other natural disasters.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|access-date=July 29, 2021|title=BUILDING BIG: Databank: Akashi Kaikyo Bridge |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/wonder/structure/akashi_kaikyo.html|website=www.pbs.org|archive-date=December 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201220180910/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/wonder/structure/akashi_kaikyo.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The {{ill|Sekirei Maru sinking|ja|せきれい丸沈没事故}} in stormy weather in December 1945, while carrying more than three times its capacity of 100 passengers, killed 304 people, first stirring public discussion on the possibility of a bridge over the span. In 1955, two ferries sank in the [[Shiun Maru disaster]] during a storm, killing 168 people. The ensuing shock and public outrage convinced the Japanese government to develop plans for a bridge to cross the strait.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/674864414 |title=本州四国連絡橋のはなし : 長大橋を架ける |author=Hiroyuki Fujikawa |date=2003 |publisher=交通研究協会 |isbn=4-425-76111-1 |pages=2–5 |trans-title=The story of the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Project: How the great spans were erected |oclc=674864414 |access-date=July 29, 2021 |archive-date=February 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218202205/https://www.worldcat.org/title/honshu-shikoku-renrakukyo-no-hanashi-chodaikyo-o-kakeru/oclc/674864414 |url-status=live }}</ref>