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Tōhoku-Chūō Expressway sign
Tōhoku-Chūō Expressway
E13 東北中央自動車道
Route information
Length230.6 km (143.3 mi)
Main Route (planned)
Existed1997 [1]–present
Component
highways
National Route 13 / National Route 115
Major junctions
South endSōma Junction
Jōban Expressway in Sōma, Fukushima
North endShimoinnai Interchange
National Route 13 in Yuzawa, Akita
Location
Country Japan
Major cities Date, Fukushima, Yonezawa, Yamagata, Tendō, Higashine, Yuzawa
Highway system

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]

Overview

Kuriko Tunnel as seen from the entrance in Fukushima Prefecture

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

The 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

  • PA - parking area, SA - service area, SIC - smart interchange, TB - toll gate
PrefectureLocationkmmiExitNameDestinationsNotes
Fukushima Sōma0.00.023Sōma Jōban Expressway – Iwaki, Mito, Sendai, Ishinomaki
National Route 115 – Central Sōma, Fukushima
Southern terminus
6.03.71Sōma-Yamakami National Route 115 – Central Sōma, FukushimaNorthbound entrance, southbound exit
16.510.32Sōma-Tamano National Route 115 – Sōma, FukushimaSouthbound entrance, northbound exit
Date21.513.43Ryōzen-Iitate National Route 115 – Sōma, FukushimaSouthbound exit, northbound entrance
33.520.84Ryōzen National Route 115 – Sōma, Fukushima, Central RyōzenTemporary at-grade intersection
40.925.45Date-chūōScheduled to open in March 2021
43.727.26Date-Koori National Route 4 – Shiroishi, Fukushima
Koori45.728.422-1 / TBKoori Tōhoku Expressway north – to Yamagata Expressway, SendaiSouthern end of Tōhoku Expressway concurrency
Tōhoku Expressway concurrency
Fukushima49.5
50.0
30.8
31.1
21-1 / TBFukushima Tōhoku Expressway south – Utsunomiya, TokyoNorthern end of Tōhoku Expressway concurrency
50.931.67Fukushima-Ōzasō Fukushima Prefecture Route 5 (Kaminagura Iizaka Date Route) – to National Route 13, National Route 115, Aizuwakamatsu, Yonezawa, Central Fukushima
Fukushima/ Yamagata border61.2
69.2
38.0
43.0
Kuriko Tunnel; marking the border between Fukushima and Yamagata prefectures
Yamagata Yonezawa77.548.28Yonezawa-Hachimanbara National Route 13 – Yamagata, Nan'yō, Koriyama, Fukushima
82.251.19Yonezawa-chūōYamagata Prefecture Route 1 (Yonezawa Takahata Route)
86.553.710 / TBYonezawa-kita National Route 13 / National Route 121 (Yonezawa Bypass)
Takahata95.359.211Yonezawa-Hachimanbara National Route 13 (Nan'yō Bypass) / National Route 113 (Akayu Bypass)
Nan'yō102.463.6PANan'yō
Kaminoyama110.668.712Kaminoyama Onsen National Route 13 (Kaminoyama Bypass) / National Route 458 north
119.774.413Yamagata-Kaminoyama National Route 13 (Yamagata Bypass)
Yamagata127.078.9PA / SICYamagataPlanned smart interchange [7]
130.180.814Yamagata-chūōYamagata Prefecture Route 18 (Yamagata Asahi Route)
135.284.015Yamagata Yamagata Expressway – to Tōhoku Expressway, Sendai, Sakata
Tendō141.8
142.4
88.1
88.5
16 / TBTendōYamagata Prefecture Route 23 (Tendō Ōe Route)
Higashine146.891.217Higashine National Route 287
151.193.918Higashine-kitaYamagata Prefecture Route 25 (Sagae Murayama Route)
13.7 km gap in the expressway, connection is made primarily by National Route 13
Murayama164.8102.421Ōishida-MurayamaYamagata Prefecture Route 189 (Ōishida Tsuchiuda Route)
Obanazawa170.1105.722Obanazawa National Route 347
174.1108.2Nokurosawa National Route 13 (Obanazawa Bypass)Southbound exit, northbound entrance
176.5109.7Obanazawa-kita National Route 13
180.2112.0Kawarago National Route 13Southbound exit, northbound entrance
Funagata184.1114.4FunagataYamagata Prefecture Route 56 (Shinjō-Funagata Route)
Shinjō188.3117.027Shinjō National Route 47 (Shinjō-minami Bypass) / Yamagata Prefecture Route 34
193.0119.9Shinjō-kitaYamagata Prefecture Route 308At-grade intersection
17.5 km gap in the expressway, connection is made primarily by National Route 13
Kaneyama210.5130.8Kaneyama-kita National Route 13 northAt-grade intersection
215.4133.8Sotosawa National Route 13Southbound exit, northbound entrance
Mamurogawa220.4137.0Mamurogawa National Route 13 southAt-grade intersection
7.2 km gap in the expressway, connection is made by National Route 13
Akita Yuzawa227.6141.4Kamiinnai National Route 13 northAt-grade intersection
230.6143.3Shimoinnai National Route 13 southAt-grade intersection; northern terminus
National Route 13 through to Yuzawa-Yokote Road
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. ^ "Yamagata Shimbun, 21 November 2007". Retrieved 12 May 2008.[ permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "Japan's Expressway Numbering System". www.mlit.go.jp. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ "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.
  7. ^ "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