The Tōhoku-Chūō Expressway (東北中央自動車道, Tōhoku-Chūō Jidōsha-dō) (lit. Central Tōhoku Expressway) is a 2-laned national expressway in the Tōhoku region of Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). The expressway is numbered E13 under the MLIT's "2016 Proposal for Realization of Expressway Numbering."[2]
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|---|---|
 東北中央自動車道 | |
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| Route information | |
| Length | 230.6 km (143.3 mi) Main Route (planned) |
| Existed | 1997[1]–present |
| Component highways |   National Route 13 / National Route 115 |
| Major junctions | |
| South end | Sōma Junction Jōban Expressway in Sōma, Fukushima |
| North end | Shimoinnai Interchange National Route 13 in Yuzawa, Akita |
| Location | |
| Country | Japan |
| Major cities | Date, Fukushima, Yonezawa, Yamagata, Tendō, Higashine, Yuzawa |
| Highway system | |
Overview
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The expressway is incomplete in many areas, however it is planned to eventually be a continuous route spanning northern Fukushima, Yamagata, and southern Akita prefectures. As of July 2019, all gaps in the expressway are in the process of being eliminated, with all gaps in Fukushima set to be removed by March 2021.[3] North of the city of Shinjō, various expressway-standard roads (bypasses of National Route 13) make up the remaining distance to the city of Yokote in Akita Prefecture.[4]
The route of the expressway parallels the Ōu Main Line of East Japan Railway Company for most of its length.
The speed limit is 70 km/h along the majority of the route, there are short 80 km/h sections between Yonezawa-kita and Yonezawa-Hachimanbara interchanges and Higashine and Higashine-kita interchanges.
History
editThe first section of the Tōhoku-Chūō Expressway to open was between Yonezawa-kita and Yonezawa-Hachimanbara interchanges on 21 November 1997. Since then the road has gradually been extended by adding short extensions.[5] The 8.8 km (5.5 mi) long Yonezawa-Nan'yō Road was incorporated into the Tōhoku-Chūō Expressway on 4 November 2017.[6] MLIT began construction on the last gap of the road on 30 March 2018, a 3.5 km (2.2 mi) long section in Kaneyama, Yamagata.[4]
List of major junctions
edit- PA - parking area, SA - service area, SIC - smart interchange, TB - toll gate
| Prefecture | Location | km | mi | Exit | Name | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fukushima | Sōma | 0.0 | 0.0 | 23 | Sōma | Jōban Expressway – Iwaki, Mito, Sendai, Ishinomaki National Route 115 – Central Sōma, Fukushima | Southern terminus |
| 6.0 | 3.7 | 1 | Sōma-Yamakami | National Route 115 – Central Sōma, Fukushima | Northbound entrance, southbound exit | ||
| 16.5 | 10.3 | 2 | Sōma-Tamano | National Route 115 – Sōma, Fukushima | Southbound entrance, northbound exit | ||
| Date | 21.5 | 13.4 | 3 | Ryōzen-Iitate | National Route 115 – Sōma, Fukushima | Southbound exit, northbound entrance | |
| 33.5 | 20.8 | 4 | Ryōzen | National Route 115 – Sōma, Fukushima, Central Ryōzen | Temporary at-grade intersection | ||
| 40.9 | 25.4 | 5 | Date-chūō | Scheduled to open in March 2021 | |||
| 43.7 | 27.2 | 6 | Date-Koori |  National Route 4 – Shiroishi, Fukushima | |||
| Koori | 45.7 | 28.4 | 22-1 / TB | Koori |   Tōhoku Expressway north – to Yamagata Expressway, Sendai | Southern end of Tōhoku Expressway concurrency | |
| Tōhoku Expressway concurrency | |||||||
| Fukushima | 49.5 50.0 | 30.8 31.1 | 21-1 / TB | Fukushima | Tōhoku Expressway south – Utsunomiya, Tokyo | Northern end of Tōhoku Expressway concurrency | |
| 50.9 | 31.6 | 7 | Fukushima-Ōzasō |   Fukushima Prefecture Route 5 (Kaminagura Iizaka Date Route) – to National Route 13, National Route 115, Aizuwakamatsu, Yonezawa, Central Fukushima | |||
| Fukushima/Yamagata border | 61.2 69.2 | 38.0 43.0 | Kuriko Tunnel; marking the border between Fukushima and Yamagata prefectures | ||||
| Yamagata | Yonezawa | 77.5 | 48.2 | 8 | Yonezawa-Hachimanbara | National Route 13 – Yamagata, Nan'yō, Koriyama, Fukushima | |
| 82.2 | 51.1 | 9 | Yonezawa-chūō | Yamagata Prefecture Route 1 (Yonezawa Takahata Route) | |||
| 86.5 | 53.7 | 10 / TB | Yonezawa-kita |  National Route 13 / National Route 121 (Yonezawa Bypass) | |||
| Takahata | 95.3 | 59.2 | 11 | Yonezawa-Hachimanbara |  National Route 13 (Nan'yō Bypass) / National Route 113 (Akayu Bypass) | ||
| Nan'yō | 102.4 | 63.6 | PA | Nan'yō | |||
| Kaminoyama | 110.6 | 68.7 | 12 | Kaminoyama Onsen |  National Route 13 (Kaminoyama Bypass) / National Route 458 north | ||
| 119.7 | 74.4 | 13 | Yamagata-Kaminoyama | National Route 13 (Yamagata Bypass) | |||
| Yamagata | 127.0 | 78.9 | PA / SIC | Yamagata | Planned smart interchange[7] | ||
| 130.1 | 80.8 | 14 | Yamagata-chūō | Yamagata Prefecture Route 18 (Yamagata Asahi Route) | |||
| 135.2 | 84.0 | 15 | Yamagata |   Yamagata Expressway – to Tōhoku Expressway, Sendai, Sakata | |||
| Tendō | 141.8 142.4 | 88.1 88.5 | 16 / TB | Tendō | Yamagata Prefecture Route 23 (Tendō Ōe Route) | ||
| Higashine | 146.8 | 91.2 | 17 | Higashine |  National Route 287 | ||
| 151.1 | 93.9 | 18 | Higashine-kita | Yamagata Prefecture Route 25 (Sagae Murayama Route) | |||
| 13.7 km gap in the expressway, connection is made primarily by National Route 13 | |||||||
| Murayama | 164.8 | 102.4 | 21 | Ōishida-Murayama | Yamagata Prefecture Route 189 (Ōishida Tsuchiuda Route) | ||
| Obanazawa | 170.1 | 105.7 | 22 | Obanazawa |  National Route 347 | ||
| 174.1 | 108.2 | – | Nokurosawa | National Route 13 (Obanazawa Bypass) | Southbound exit, northbound entrance | ||
| 176.5 | 109.7 | – | Obanazawa-kita | National Route 13 | |||
| 180.2 | 112.0 | – | Kawarago | National Route 13 | Southbound exit, northbound entrance | ||
| Funagata | 184.1 | 114.4 | – | Funagata | Yamagata Prefecture Route 56 (Shinjō-Funagata Route) | ||
| Shinjō | 188.3 | 117.0 | 27 | Shinjō |  National Route 47 (Shinjō-minami Bypass) / Yamagata Prefecture Route 34 | ||
| 193.0 | 119.9 | – | Shinjō-kita | Yamagata Prefecture Route 308 | At-grade intersection | ||
| 17.5 km gap in the expressway, connection is made primarily by National Route 13 | |||||||
| Kaneyama | 210.5 | 130.8 | – | Kaneyama-kita | National Route 13 north | At-grade intersection | |
| 215.4 | 133.8 | – | Sotosawa | National Route 13 | Southbound exit, northbound entrance | ||
| Mamurogawa | 220.4 | 137.0 | – | Mamurogawa | National Route 13 south | At-grade intersection | |
| 7.2 km gap in the expressway, connection is made by National Route 13 | |||||||
| Akita | Yuzawa | 227.6 | 141.4 | – | Kamiinnai | National Route 13 north | At-grade intersection |
| 230.6 | 143.3 | – | Shimoinnai | National Route 13 south | At-grade intersection; northern terminus | ||
National Route 13 through to  Yuzawa-Yokote Road
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1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Yamagata Shimbun, 21 November 2007". Retrieved 12 May 2008.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Japan's Expressway Numbering System". www.mlit.go.jp. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
- ^ "本線橋架設工事始まる 「相馬福島道路」伊達桑折－伊達中央ＩＣ間４号国道上" [Main line bridge construction begins "Soma Fukushima Road" Date Koori-Date-chūō IC on National Route 4]. Fukushima Minpo (in Japanese). 28 October 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
- ^ a b ""金山道路"を新規事業化 国交省発表、東北中央道全線整備へ". Yamagata News Online (in Japanese). 18 March 2018. Archived from the original on 2 April 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- ^ "山形県内の高速道路" (PDF). Yamgata Prefecture. July 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-08-25. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- ^ "米沢南陽道路 米沢北ＩＣ～南陽高畠ＩＣ間道路名称の変更のお知らせについて ～１１月４日 米沢南陽道路から東北中央道に名称を変更します～" (PDF). NEXCO East (in Japanese). 14 September 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- ^ "スマートインターチェンジ 新規準備段階調査箇所 一覧表" (PDF). MLIT (in Japanese). 10 August 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
External links
edit- (in Japanese) East Nippon Expressway Company