Vehicles wait to cross a portion of the runway at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Monday, July 10, 2023. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Lightning has knocked out traffic lights controlling a busy road that crosses a portion of the runway at this airlift hub in western Tokyo.
That means longer delays, in longer lines, for everyday traffic passing from one side of the base to the other along the sole artery that connects the two.
And although a crew is working the problem, no immediate fix is in sight, a base spokesman said Monday.
Yokota, home of the 374th Airlift Wing and headquarters of 5th Air Force and U.S. Forces Japan, is among the rare U.S. military airfields where automobile traffic crosses a portion of an active runway.
One two-lane road carries vehicles back and forth from base housing, the hospital, theater and ongoing construction sites on the east side to the opposite side, where most people work, work out or shop.
A bolt of lightning during a July 4 storm disabled the two traffic lights at either end of the road, which crosses the south end of the runway, or overrun. The lights set a rhythm for travel at Yokota.
A standing, roadside light signals yellow when traffic may proceed; red means stop as aircraft approach or depart. A bell also sounds when the road is temporarily closed, and a sign alerts drivers to stop if no light is displayed.
An emergency work order was issued to replace damaged portions of the light system, in accordance with procedure, according to wing spokesman 1st Lt. Danny Rangel. There is no estimate for when the lights will be working again, he said.
Until then, members of the 374th Security Forces Squadron and “augmentees” are stationed at either end of the road, halting traffic while the runway is busy and signaling it forward when the way is clear, Rangel said.
“Yokota Air Base operations are proceeding as normal,” he said. “Those traveling on the south overrun are asked to exercise caution when approaching and exiting the overrun, especially during hours of darkness.”
