The (lit. Central Tōhoku Expressway) is a 2-laned national expressway in the

Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, , or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. It is owned and operated by

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 P ...

and

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism The , abbreviated MLIT, is a ministry of the Japanese government.国土交通省設置法

(MLIT). The expressway is numbered E13 under the MLIT's "2016 Proposal for Realization of Expressway Numbering."

Overview

Kuriko-tunnel Fukushima prefecture side entrance

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 near the border between Yamagata and Akita set to be removed. The route of the expressway parallels the

Ōu Main Line The is a railway line in Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Fukushima Station (Fukushima), Fukushima Station through Akita Station to Aomori Station. Since the opening of the Yamagata Shinkansen on July 1, 1 ...

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in ...

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

After 1984, the roads along this section were sporadically constructed, but in 1987, the Cabinet decided that they would be developed together as the Tohoku Chuo Expressway from Soma, Fukushima to

Yokote, Akita is a Cities of Japan, city located in Akita Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 81,617 in 33,876 households, and a population density of 120 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Yokote is located ...

. Since then the road has gradually been extended by adding short extensions. The long Yonezawa-Nan'yō Road was incorporated into the Tōhoku-Chūō Expressway on 4 November 2017. MLIT began construction on the last gap of the road on 30 March 2018, a long section in

Kaneyama, Yamagata 270px, Kaneyama scene is a town located in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. , the town has an estimated population of 5,205, and a population density of 35 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Geography Kaneyama is located in northeaste ...

. Effective November 30, 2023, the section of Yuzawa-Yokote Road connecting Yuzawa and Yokote, which is an automobile-only road, was incorporated into the Tōhoku-Chūō Expressway.

List of major junctions

*PA - parking area, SA - service area, SIC - smart interchange, TB - toll gate , colspan="8" style="text-align: center;", Through as

References

External links

East Nippon Expressway Company
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tohoku-Chuo Expressway Expressways in Japan Proposed roads in Japan Roads in Akita Prefecture Roads in Fukushima Prefecture Roads in Yamagata Prefecture 1997 establishments in Japan

Overview

History

List of major junctions

See also

References

External links