The , or , is a partially completed

ticket system A ticket system, also known as a closed toll collection system, is a system used on some toll roads in which a user pays a toll rate based on the distance traveled from their originating entrance to their destination exit. The correct toll is de ...

toll Toll may refer to: Transportation * Toll (fee) a fee charged for the use of a road or waterway ** Road pricing, the modern practice of charging for road use ** Road toll (historic), the historic practice of charging for road use ** Shadow toll, ...

expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by the Central Nippon Expressway Company and

East Nippon Expressway Company The , abbreviated as , is one of the main operators of expressways and toll roads in Japan. It is headquartered in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company was established on October 1, 2005 as a result of the privatization of Japan Highway Pub ...

. In conjunction with the

Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line The , also known as the Trans-Tokyo Bay Expressway, is an expressway that is mainly made up of a bridge–tunnel combination across Tokyo Bay in Japan. It connects the city of Kawasaki in Kanagawa Prefecture with the city of Kisarazu in Chiba ...

and the

Bayshore Route The signed as Route B, is one of the routes of the tolled Shuto Expressway system in the Greater Tokyo Area. The Bayshore Route is a stretch of toll highway that runs from the Kanazawa ward of Yokohama in the west, northeast to the city of ...

of the

Shuto Expressway is a network of toll expressways in the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is operated and maintained by the . Most routes are grade-separated (elevated roads or tunnels) and central routes have many sharp curves and multi-lane merges that requi ...

, the expressway will form a full outer ring road of

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. It is signed as National Route 468 as well as C4 under the "2016 Proposal for Realization of Expressway Numbering." The section owned by the Central Nippon Expressway Company runs from the east end of the Shin-Shōnan Bypass west along the bypass and north to Akiruno Interchange. The rest of the route is owned by the East Nippon Expressway Company.

Route description

The expressway begins at the west end of the Fujisawa Bypass (part of Route 1) in

Fujisawa, Kanagawa is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 439,728 and a population density of 6300 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Fujisawa is in the central part of Kanagawa Prefecture. ...

. From here the expressway is concurrent with the Shin-Shōnan Bypass, which it splits from as that road turns toward the south at Chigasaki. The Ken-O Expressway then heads north, crossing the

Tōmei Expressway The is a national expressway on the island of Honshū in Japan. It is operated by Central Nippon Expressway Company. The expressway is designated as E1 under the "2016 Proposal for Realization of Expressway Numbering", because it parallels ...

and

Chūō Expressway The is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by NEXCO Central. Naming Officially the expressway is designated as the Chūō Expressway Nishinomiya Route (from Takaido Interchange to Komaki Junction), the Chūō Expressway Na ...

. Continuing north, then east. There are junctions with the

Kan-Etsu Expressway The is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned and managed by East Nippon Expressway Company. Naming is the ''kanji'' acronym of and the old comprising modern-day Niigata Prefecture. Officially, the Kan-Etsu consists of two routes. Bot ...

Tōhoku Expressway The is a south-north national expressway, and the longest expressway in Japan at . Its southern terminus is in Kawaguchi, Saitama in the Greater Tokyo Area, at the Tokyo Gaikan Expressway and Kawaguchi Route near Araijuku Station, and its no ...

, and

Jōban Expressway The , abbreviated , is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company. It is signed E6 under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's "2016 Proposal for Realization of Expressway N ...

. It then turns southeast, where it meets the

Higashi-Kantō Expressway The (lit. East Kantō Expressway) is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company. Overview Officially the expressway is referred to as the Higashi-Kantō Expressway Mito Route. The expresswa ...

east of

Narita Airport Narita International Airport ( ja, 成田国際空港, Narita Kokusai Kūkō) , also known as Tokyo-Narita, formerly and originally known as , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Haneda Airport ...

, there is gap in the expressway here that is planned to be closed. The expressway resumes at Choshu Renraku Road in

Tōgane is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 57,780 in 26,907 households and a population density of 650 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Tōgane is home to the ''Kurenai-kai'' Sch ...

. It crosses the present east end of the Chiba-Tōgane Road, a two-lane expressway. The Ken-O Expressway continues south, looping west to end at the junction of the

and Tateyama Expressway.

History

The Ken-Ō Expressway was linked with the

Shin-Tōmei Expressway The , literally meaning New Tōmei, is a national expressway in Japan running parallel to the Tomei Expressway as an alternate route. It is operated by Central Nippon Expressway Company. The expressway is also numbered E1A under the "2016 Proposa ...

on 28 January 2018. The smart interchange in

Ōamishirasato file:Oami sta.jpg, 260px, Area around Ōami Station is a Cities of Japan, city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 49,019 in 21,860 households and a population density of 840 persons per km². The total a ...

was opened on 24 March 2019.

Future

Portions of the existing Yokohama-Yokosuka Expressway, Shin-Shōnan Bypass and Chiba-Tōgane Road and the planned Yokohama Ring Expressway will be incorporated into the expressway. In

Chiba Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama Prefecture to t ...

, land acquisition is under way for an gap in the expressway to be filled. The new segment is expected to reach completion by 2024.

Economic significance

Along with

Japan National Route 16 is a national highway in Japan. A beltway around Tokyo, it links the major prefectural capital cities of Yokohama (in Kanagawa Prefecture), Saitama (in Saitama Prefecture), and Chiba (in Chiba Prefecture) as well as Hachiōji (in Tokyo). It ...

, the Ken-Ō Expressway will connect the entire length of the Technology Advanced Metropolitan Area (TAMA) — an inland industrial region covering an area of 3000 km², in 74 municipalities, and home to over 10 million people of whom 4 million work in the TAMA firms. In 1998 goods shipped from TAMA had twice the shipment value of the

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...

Junction list

Parking areas are appended with PA and smart interchanges are appended with SIC. There are currently no service areas. , colspan="8" style="text-align: center;", Through to , colspan="8" style="text-align: center;", Through to

External links

*http://www.ktr.mlit.go.jp/honkyoku/road/3kanjo/kenoudo/index.htm * illustrations of new and planned segments, June 2015 (Japanese) http://www.e-nexco.co.jp/pressroom/press_release/kanto/h27/0424/pdfs/pdf.pdf

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ken-O Expressway Expressways in Japan 468 Ring roads in Japan Roads in Chiba Prefecture Roads in Ibaraki Prefecture Roads in Kanagawa Prefecture Roads in Saitama Prefecture Roads in Tokyo