The , signed as Route 13, is one of the tolled routes of the

Hanshin Expressway The is a network of expressways surrounding Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto, Japan. Operated by , it opened in 1962. Portions of the Hanshin Expressway about east of Fukae Station collapsed during the Kobe earthquake on 17 January 1995. These section ...

system serving the

Keihanshin is a metropolitan region in the Kansai region of Japan encompassing the metropolitan areas of the cities of Kyoto in Kyoto Prefecture, Osaka in Osaka Prefecture and Kobe in Hyōgo Prefecture. The entire region has a population () of 19,302,746 o ...

area in Kansai, Japan. It travels in a west to east direction from the Chūō ward of

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

, beginning at a junction with the

Loop Route In road transportation in the United States, a special route is a road in a numbered highway system that diverts a specific segment of related traffic away from another road. They are featured in many highway systems; most are found in the Int ...

and

Ōsakakō Route The , signed as Route 16, is one of the routes of the Hanshin Expressway system serving the Keihanshin area. It is a radial route that travels in an east to west direction from central Osaka, to Suminoe-ku, Osaka, Suminoe-ku, with a total length ...

, to the Daini Hanna Road in the city of

Higashiōsaka is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 489,077 in 233,124 households and a population density of 7900 persons per km². The total area of the city is . The city is known as one of the industrial ci ...

. The expressway has a total length of .

Route description

Miyaato-PedestrianBridge on Chuo-odori Osaka Japan

The Higashi-Osaka Route travels in a west to east direction from the Chūō ward of

, beginning as a one-way highway at a junction with the

and

on the western side of the Loop Route. Its next junction is a second interchange with the Loop Route on that highway's eastern side. Heading east towards

and

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

, the expressway is an

elevated highway An elevated highway is a controlled-access highway that is raised above grade for its entire length. Elevation is usually constructed as viaducts, typically a long pier bridge. Technically, the entire highway is a single bridge. Reason to const ...

running directly over the

Yumehanna is the collective nickname for the Chūō Line (Osaka), Chūō Line of the Osaka Metro and the Keihanna Line of the Kintetsu Railway in Osaka Prefecture and Nara Prefecture, Japan. The two lines operate through trains between Cosmosquare Station, ...

rail line. When utilized with the Daini Hanna Road at the eastern end of the Higashi-Osaka Route, the combined expressways function as the most direct road connection between the city centers of Osaka and Nara.

History

Construction of the Higashi-Osaka Route began in 1967 in preparation for the

Expo '70 The or Expo 70 was a world's fair held in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Japan between March 15 and September 13, 1970. Its theme was "Progress and Harmony for Mankind." In Japanese, Expo '70 is often referred to as . It was the first world's fair ...

held in the nearby city of

Suita is a city located in northern Osaka Prefecture, Japan. As of October 1, 2016, the city has an estimated population of 378,322 and a population density of 9,880 persons per km². The total area is 36.11 km². The city was founded on April 1, ...

. The first section of the expressway was completed after three years of construction in 1970. The entire expressway was completed by 1976, with the exception of a short section between

Osaka Castle is a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The castle is one of Japan's most famous landmarks and it played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi-Momoyama period. Layout The main tower ...

and

Naniwa Nagara-Toyosaki Palace , is a historical palace which was located in present-day central Osaka city, Japan. The palace of this period is also sometimes referred to as the , to contrast it with the (Latter) Naniwa Palace built in the same location in 744 AD. Constructi ...

that was left unbuilt until 1978. This section's completion was delayed due to the discovery of a trace of a palace that was found along the expressway's route during a survey done in 1960. In order to preserve the archaeological site, the elevated expressway had to be built using a structure that did not require piles. A lightweight superstructure was used to elevate the road above the site, but the structure was deemed deficient after fractures developed in it after years of use. The structure was temporarily reinforced, but it has been determined by the Hanshin Expressway Company that it will need to be replaced with a stronger structure in the future.

List of interchanges

The entire expressway lies within

Osaka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Osaka Prefecture has a population of 8,778,035 () and has a geographic area of . Osaka Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture to the northwest, Kyoto Prefecture ...

References

External links

* {{Hanshin Expressway Roads in Osaka Prefecture 13 1970 establishments in Japan

Route description

History

List of interchanges

See also

References

External links