The Nippon Causeway

The Nippon Causeway is the main link between the heavily populated island of Betio (site of the Battle of Tarawa) and the other atolls in South Tarawa. It was built by the Japanese government in the late 1980s and prior to that boat was the only link between the main communities of Bairiki and Betio. The causeway is the only road linking Betio to the rest of South Tarawa and was badly damaged a combination of spring tides, strong winds and heavy rain following Cyclone Pam in March 2015.

The causeway is not without controversy, some 3-4 kms long it is a vital connection for Tarawa but it only has one bridge. Traditionally each tide would have flushed the lagoon and this low lying gap between the atolls was one of the main points that the water flowed into and out of the lagoon with each tide but now the causeway blocks this from happening. The lagoon on South Tarawa is no longer flushed clean every day and so has become quite heavily polluted and is not safe to swim, at least for westerners, though locals still use it for bathing, swimming and going to the toilet (which is in itself part of the problem!).   

Over the past few years the main road running the length of the atolls has been sealed and I have been told this has led to a major reduction in the  infant mortality rate as there is now a lot less coral dust being kicked up by the cars, minbuses and trucks using the road. This work was done by McDowell’s of New Zealand throughout the island but the section across the causeway is unpaved as it is the responsibility of the Japanese to maintain/repair. That being said the work is currently being done to fix causeway, repairing and strengthening it and preparing for the new road surface. Of course this means that the roading equipment brought over from NZ was returned there and no doubt other roading equipment supplied by Japan will replace it- is that double handling, less efficient use of money and resources? I’ll leave that to the reader to decide but is pretty much par for the course in development circles.

Anyhow, since I’ve been here work has progressed on the upgrade/repairs to the causeway and it is due to be finished early next year and once it is completed will make a huge diffidence to traffic flows and make it so much quicker nand easier to travel between Betio and Bairiki. 

At present though, crossing the causeway, as I do each day, is a bit frustrating. The roading crews put a layer of crushed coral sand as the main surface of the road and it’s not really fit for purpose- even a non roading engineer like me can tell that. The surface is okay when dry, it is pretty hard but does slowly erode so is constantly being replaced and smoothed over. The real problem occurs when it rains, the coral turns to a weetbix like mush and is soon pock marked with holes, some quite deep. Cars and other transport needs to wend its way around the potholes and worst affected areas. Still, only a few months and it should be fixed. In the meantime though….

South Tarawa

The causeway before it was damaged in 2015.

My first day in Kiribati- the repairs and strengthening of the causeway are evident.

Early April, as you can see work was continuing on the new seawalls. A hole in the reef which was blasted when the causeway was built to create a channel for boats and this created a great surf break and this shot is taken shortly before we headed out for a surf.

Biking to work. The Bairiki end of the causeway.

As you can see the surface isn't really ideal, it cuts up pretty quickly.

Traffic wending its way past the worst of the hollows, which are in evidence in the foreground.

The surface erroded after the rains last weekend and need refilling- a never ending job!

A tuck slowly making its way across the uneven surface.

At the Betio end of the causeway there was still quite a bit of mud.

Which we had to navigate to get to work.

When wet the surface is like weetbix!

Heading home after work, graders working on the Betio end of the causeway. You can see how little elevation between the high tide mark and the road there is. There is only about a metre of elevation hence the frequent issues during king tides.

Heading home after work, the lagoon is on the left and the new seawall is completed. It has 3 different channels to catch the water. It is on the lagoon side that most of the problems during king tides + wind seem to occur.

Tiabo

Craig