Nihonkai-Tōhoku Expressway

Nihonkai-Tōhoku Expressway
日本海東北自動車道)
Route information
Maintained by East Nippon Expressway Company
Length:	53.6 km[1] (33.3 mi) Tolled sections
Existed:	2001 – present
Major junctions
From:	Niigata-Chūō Junction in Niigata, Niigata Hokuriku Expressway Ban-etsu Expressway
To:	Kawabe Junction in Akita, Akita Akita Expressway
Location
Major cities:	Shibata, Tainai, Tsuruoka, Sakata, Nikaho, Yurihonjō
Highway system
National highways of Japan Expressways of Japan

The Nihonkai-Tōhoku Expressway (日本海東北自動車道, Nihonkai Tōhoku Jidōsha-dō^?) is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company.

Naming

The course of the expressway takes it alongside the coastline of the Sea of Japan (Nihonkai) in the Tōhoku region of Japan.

The Nihonkai-Tōhoku Expressway is the operating name for the sections of the Nihonkai Engan Tōhoku Expressway that are operated by East Nippon Expressway Company. The Nihonkai Engan Tōhoku Expressway is an official designation consisting of several routes that link Niigata with Aomori via Yamagata and Akita^[2], reaching a total of approximately 322 km.^[3]

Overview

The first section of the expressway was opened to traffic in 2001. As of March 2008 the expressway incomplete in many areas. The next section is scheduled to open in 2009 (Nakajō Interchange to Arakawa Interchange)^[4] to coincide with the National Sports Festival which is planned to be held in Niigata that year. After this, all future sections will be built according to the New Direct Control System, whereby the burden for construction costs will be shared by the national and local governments and no tolls will be collected. Currently the section between Honjō Interchange and Iwaki Interchange operates according to this principle.^[5]

The expressway is 4 lanes from Niigata-Chūō Junction to Toyosaka Service Area, and 2 lanes for all remaining sections.

The route parallels the Uetsu Main Line of East Japan Railway Company and National Route 7 for much of its length.

List of interchanges and features

• IC - interchange, SIC - smart interchange, JCT - junction, SA - service area, PA - parking area, BS - bus stop, TB - toll gate, BR - bridge, TN - tunnel

Niigata section

No.	Name	Connections	Dist. from Origin	Dist. from Terminus	Bus Stop	Notes	Location (all in Niigata)
Through to Hokuriku Expressway
(42)	Niigata-Chūō JCT	Ban-etsu Expressway	0.0	67.5			Kōnan-ku, Niigata
1[43]	Niigata-Kameda IC	National Route 49	3.2	64.3
BS	Nishino Bus Stop		7.4	60.1	○
2[44]	Niigata Airport IC	Pref. Route 16 (Niigata Kameda Uchino Route)	9.2	58.3
SA	Toyosaka SA/SIC		11.7	55.8		SIC: Nakajō-bound exit, Niigata-bound entrance only	Kita-ku, Niigata
BS	Kuzutsuka Bus Stop		16.6	50.9	○
3	Seirō-Shibata IC	National Route 7 (Niigata Bypass)	25.7	41.8	○			Seirō
BS	Kajikawa-Shiunji Bus Stop		31.6	35.9	○		Shibata
	Emergency Exit		↓	↑		Access for Shibata Hospital Authorized vehicles only
5	Nakajō IC	Pref. Route 591 (Nakajō Inter Route)	36.9	30.6			Tainai
TB	Nakajō Toll Gate		37.0	30.5
BS	Tainai Bus Stop		41.4	26.1	○
6	Arakawa-Tainai IC	National Route 113	46.6	21.1			Murakami
7	Kamihayashi-Iwafunekō IC		53.7	13.8
8	Murakami-Senamionsen IC	National Route 7	57.7	9.8
9	Murakami-Saberi IC	Pref. Route 397 (Kamiyamada Saberi Route)	61.4	6.1		Asahi-bound exit, Murakami-bound entrance only
10	Asahi-Miomote IC	Pref. Route 349 (Tsuruoka Murakami Route)	63.7	4.2		Asahi-bound exit, Murakami-bound entrance only
11	Asahi-Mahoroba IC	Pref. Route 208 (Koage Sarusawa Route)	67.5	0

Yamagata section

No.	Name	Connections	Dist. from Origin	Dist. from Terminus	Bus Stop	Notes	Location (all in Yamagata)
<10>	Atsumi IC	Pref. Route 348 (Atsumigawa Kinomata Oiwagawa Route)				Opens in 2011	Tsuruoka
	Iragawa IC	Pref. Route 61 (Sugenodai Katanorizawa Route)				Opens in 2011 Atsumi-bound exit, Tsuruoka-bound entrance only
<11>	Sanze IC					Opens in 2011 Atsumi-bound exit, Tsuruoka-bound entrance only
	Tsuruoka-nishi IC					Opens in 2011
<13>	Tsuruoka JCT	Yamagata Expressway				Opens in 2011
14	Shōnai Airport IC	Pref. Route 33 (Shōnai Airport Tachikawa Route)	138.6				Sakata
15	Sakata IC/Toll Gate	National Route 7	145.7
	Sakata-chuo JCT	National Route 47				Planned
16	Sakata-Minato IC	Pref. Route 59 (Sakata Yahata Route)	157.6
	Yuza(1) IC	National Route 7				Planned	Yuza
	Yuza(2) IC	National Route 7				Planned
	Yuza(3) IC	National Route 345				Planned

Akita section

No.	Name	Connections	Dist. from Origin	Dist. from Terminus	Bus Stop	Notes	Location (all in Akita)
	Kisakata IC					Planned	Nikaho
	Konoura IC	National Route 7				Planned
	Nikaho IC	National Route 7				Planned
	(Ryōzenji temporary IC)		0.0	49.6
PA	Nishime PA		5.0	44.6			Yurihonjō
14	Honjō IC	National Route 107	11.2	37.4
14-1	Ōuchi JCT	National Route 105	20.4	29.2
14-2	Matsugasaki-Kameda IC		27.3	22.3
TN	Futago Tunnel		↓	↑
15	Iwaki IC	Pref. Route 44 (Yūwa Iwaki Route)	32.8	16.8
TB	Akita Airport Toll Gate		46.7	2.9			Akita
16	Akita Airport IC	Pref. Route 61 (Akita Goshono Yūwa Route)	47.1	2.5
5-1	Kawabe JCT	Akita Expressway	49.6	0.0

References

1. ^ "E-NEXCO Expressway Data". http://www.e-nexco.co.jp/more_expressway/data/. Retrieved 2008-04-13. 
2. ^ Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. "High Standard Trunk Road Map" (pdf). http://www.mlit.go.jp/road/ir/ir-yosan/h20/s07.pdf. Retrieved 2008-04-13. 
3. ^ Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. "Nihonkai Engan Tohoku Expressway Construction Status". http://www.thr.mlit.go.jp/akita/jimusyo/06-koujiinfo/u-const/ro-01_joltcr/n01.html. Retrieved 2008-04-17. 
4. ^ "E-NEXCO Opening Schedule". http://www.e-nexco.co.jp/open_schedule/tohoku/. Retrieved 2008-04-15. 
5. ^ Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. "Nihonkai Engan Tohoku Expressway Construction Status". http://www.thr.mlit.go.jp/akita/jimusyo/06-koujiinfo/u-const/ro-01_joltcr/n04.html. Retrieved 2008-04-17. ^{[dead link]}

External links

• (Japanese) East Nippon Expressway Company