Higashi-Meihan Expressway

Infobox_road
highway_name = Higashi-Meihan Expressway (東名阪自動車道)
marker_



length = 85.8 km [cite web| url= http://www.cbr.mlit.go.jp/time_road/hw_meihan01.htm | title= Road Timetable |author= Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport | accessdate= 2008-04-17 ] [cite web| url= http://www.cbr.mlit.go.jp/time_road/hw_meihan02.htm | title= Road Timetable |author= Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport | accessdate= 2008-04-17 ]
established = 1970
first_open =
starting_terminus = Nagoya-minami Junction in Nagoya

cities = Kiyosu, Tsushima, Aisai, Yatomi, Kuwana, Yokkaichi, Suzuka
ending_terminus = Ise-Seki Interchange in Kameyama, Mie
The nihongo|Higashi-Meihan Expressway|東名阪自動車道|Higashimeihan Jidōshadō is a 4-laned national expressway in the Tōkai region of Japan. It is owned and operated by Central Nippon Expressway Company.

Naming

Meihan is a kanji acronym of two characters. The first character represents Nagoya (名古屋) and the second character represents Osaka (大阪). Higashi (東) means east; together with the Meihan Highway and Nishi-Meihan Expressway, it forms a corridor linking the greater Nagoya and Osaka areas.

Officially, the route is designated as the Kinki Expressway Nagoya Osaka Route, [cite web| url= http://www.mlit.go.jp/road/ir/ir-yosan/h20/s07.pdf | title= High Standard Trunk Road Map |author= Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport | accessdate= 2008-04-13 | format=pdf] however this designation does not appear on any signage. In some areas, signs on the route are written in Japanese as 東名阪道 or ひがし名阪道; this is to prevent confusion with the Tōmei Expressway which looks similar when written in Japanese.

Overview

The first section of what would later become the Higashi-Meihan Expressway opened to traffic in 1970.cite web| url= http://www.tokai-kansen.go.jp/naruhodo/jisendo/2006_07/p03_04.html | title= History of the Expressway Network in the Greater Nagoya Area |author= Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport | accessdate= 2008-04-17 ] The section from Nagoya-minami Junction to Takabari Junction is currently under construction; it is expected to open in 2010. There are also plans to expand the section from Yokkaichi Junction to Kameyama Junction to 6 lanes.cite web| url= http://www.c-nexco.co.jp/english/pdf/nexco_english.pdf | title= NEXCO-Central Business Outline | accessdate= 2008-04-17 | format=pdf]

The expressway is effectively divided into two parts. From Nagoya-minami Junction to Nagoya-nishi Junction, the expressway forms a semi-circle around central Nagoya, built as an elevated expressway on the median of National Route 302. This section is built to an urban expressway standard with no parking areas or service areas and a lower speed limit than other national expressways (60 km/h). Tolls are charged at a flat rate (currently 500 yen for a regular passenger car). [cite web| url= http://www.driveplaza.com/dp/SearchTop#search_map | title= E-NEXCO Drive Plaza Route Search | accessdate= 2008-04-13 ] The remaining section from Nagoya-nishi Junction to Ise-Seki Interchange is built to the same standards as most other national expressways, with tolls being charged according to distance travelled.

The section between Hikiyama Interchange and Ōmori Interchange consists of tunnels that run underneath waterways; vehicles carrying dangerous goods are forbidden from travelling through these tunnels and must use alternate routes.

List of interchanges and features

* IC - interchange, SIC - smart interchange, JCT - junction, PA - parking area, SA - service area, TB - toll gate, TN - tunnel

Main Route

Higashi-Meihan Connecting Road

References

External links

* [http://www.c-nexco.co.jp/english/ Central Nippon Expressway Company]