Kan-Etsu Expressway

Kan-Etsu Expressway
関越自動車道
Route information
Length: 245.8 mi[1] (395.6 km)
Major junctions
From: Nerima Interchange in Nerima, Tokyo
Tokyo Metropolitan Route 24
To: Nagaoka Junction in Nagaoka, Niigata
Hokuriku Expressway
Location
Major cities: Kawagoe, Fujioka, Takasaki, Maebashi, Ojiya
Highway system
National highways of Japan
Expressways of Japan

The Kan-Etsu Expressway (関越自動車道 Kan'etsu Jidōsha-dō) is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned and managed by East Nippon Expressway Company.

Naming

Kan-Etsu (関越) is the kanji acronym of Kantō (関東) and the old Echigo Province (越後国) comprising modern-day Niigata Prefecture.

Officially, the Kan-Etsu consists of two routes. Both begin in Tokyo and end in Niigata Prefecture. The Kan-Etsu Expressway Niigata Route consists of the entire Kan-Etsu Expressway from Nerima to Nagaoka, as well as the Hokuriku Expressway beyond Nagaoka to its terminus in the city of Niigata. The Kan-Etsu Expressway Jōetsu Route is concurrent with the Niigata Route until Fujioka Junction, where it branches off as the Jōshin-etsu Expressway and traverses Nagano Prefecture to its terminus in Jōetsu, Niigata.[2] The remainder of this article will focus on the Niigata Route section between Nerima and Nagaoka.

Overview

Kan-Etsu Expressway in Minamiuonuma

The expressway begins in Nerima Ward in the north of Tokyo; the Kan-etsu is the only national expressway linking Tokyo that does not have a direct connection with the urban Shuto Expressway network. A junction with the Tokyo Gaikan Expressway near the origin links the Kan-etsu with other expressways serving northern parts of the Tokyo urban area. From here the expressway follows a roughly northwesterly course to its terminus in Niigata Prefecture, passing through central areas of Saitama Prefecture and Gunma Prefecture. In Gunma the Kan-etsu provides access to Nagano Prefecture by way of the Jōshin-etsu Expressway at Fujioka Junction, and completion of the Kita-Kantō Expressway in 2011[3] will facilitate access to Tochigi Prefecture and Ibaraki Prefecture. The mountainous area separating Gunma and Niigata Prefectures is traversed by the Kan-Etsu Tunnel, the second longest road tunnel in Japan.[4] The expressway then passes through southern Niigata Prefecture before terminating at a junction with the Hokuriku Expressway in Nagaoka.

The expressway parallels National Route 17 and the Jōetsu Shinkansen of East Japan Railway Company for most of its length.

The first section opened in 1971 and the entire route was opened to traffic in 1985.[5] Currently the route is 6 lanes from Ōizumi Junction to Shibukawa-Ikaho Interchange, and all other sections are 4 lanes.

List of interchanges and features

No. Name Connections Dist. from
origin		 Dist. from
terminus		 Bus stop Notes Speed limit Location
1 Nerima IC Met. Route 24 (Nerima Tokorozawa Route / Mejiro Dōri) 0.0 246.2 80 km/h Nerima Tokyo
2 Ōizumi JCT Tokyo Gaikan Expressway 0.8 245.0 IC entrance: Nagaoka-bound only
Ōizumi IC Met. Route 24 (Nerima Tokorozawa Route / Mejiro Dōri)
BS Bus Stop ↓ ↑ X Closed
TB Niiza Toll Gate ↓ ↑ Niiza Saitama
100 km/h
BS Bus Stop ↓ ↑ X Closed
3 Tokorozawa IC National Route 463 (Urawa Tokorozawa Bypass) 9.4 236.4 Tokorozawa
BS Bus Stop ↓ ↑ X Closed Miyoshi
PA Miyoshi PA/
SIC		 14.0 231.8
BS Bus Stop ↓ ↑ X Closed Fujimino
4 Kawagoe IC National Route 16 21.2 224.6 Kawagoe
BS Kawagoe-
Matoba BS		 ↓ ↑ ○
4-1 Tsurugashima JCT Ken-Ō Expressway 28.1 217.7 Tsuruga-
shima
5 Tsurugashima IC National Route 407 29.6 216.2
BS Bus Stop ↓ ↑ X Closed
SA Takasaka SA 34.7 211.1 Higashi-
matsuyama
BS Bus Stop 36.5 209.3 X Closed
6 Higashi-
matsuyama IC		 National Route 254
Pref. Route 47 (Fukaya Higashimatsuyama Route)		 39.4 206.4 X Bus Stop closed
BS Bus Stop ↓ ↑ X Closed Namegawa
6-1 Ranzan-Ogawa IC Pref. Route 11 (Kumagaya Ogawa Chichibu Route) 47.4 198.4 Ranzan
PA Ranzan PA 50.1 195.7
7 Hanazono IC National Route 140 56.1 189.7 X Bus Stop closed Fukaya
BS Bus Stop ↓ ↑ X Closed Yorii
PA Yorii PA 63.4 182.4 Fukaya/
Yorii
BS Bus Stop ↓ ↑ X Closed Misato
8 Honjō-Kodama IC National Route 462 69.6 176.2 X Bus Stop closed Honjō
BS Bus Stop ↓ ↑ X Closed Kamisato
SA Kamisato SA 75.5 170.3
BS Bus Stop ↓ ↑ X Closed Takasaki Gunma
9 Fujioka JCT Jōshin-etsu Expressway 78.6 167.2 Fujioka
9-1 Takasaki JCT Kita-Kantō Expressway 84.6 161.2 Takasaki
10 Takasaki IC Pref. Route 27 (Takasaki Komagata Route) 87.0 158.8
11 Maebashi IC National Route 17 92.1 153.7 Takasaki/
Maebashi
PA Komayose PA/
SIC		 98.3 147.5 Yoshioka
12 Shibukawa-Ikaho IC National Route 17 (Shibukawa Bypass) 103.2 142.6 Shibukawa
80 km/h
BR No.1 Tonegawa Bridge ↓ ↑ Length - 784m
CB Miharada CB ↓ ↑ Nerima-bound only
12-1/
PA		 Akagi IC/PA Pref. Route 70 (Ōmama Kamishiroi Route) 111.0 134.8
SA Akagi-kōgen SA 118.3 127.5 Shōwa
12-2 Shōwa IC Pref. Route 65 (Shōwa Inter Route) 120.4 125.4
13 Numata IC National Route 120 125.6 120.2 Numata
CB Numata CB ↓ ↑ Nagaoka-bound only
14 Tsukiyono IC National Route 17 130.9 114.9 Minakami
PA Shimomoku PA 135.3 110.5
BR Ōmine Bridge ↓ ↑ Length - 784m
15 Minakami IC National Route 291 140.8 105.0
PA Tanigawadake PA 145.8 100.0
TN Kan-Etsu Tunnel ↓ ↑ Nerima-bound 11,055m
Nagaoka-bound 10,926m		 70 km/h
Yuzawa Niigata
PA Tsuchitaru PA 157.3 88.5 80 km/h
16 Yuzawa IC National Route 17 166.7 79.1 ○
TN Ishiuchi Tunnel ↓ ↑ Nerima-bound 1,590m
Nagaoka-bound 1,500m		 Minami-
uonuma
SA Shiozawa-
Ishiuchi SA		 (173.5) 72.3 Nerima-bound only
16-1/
SA		 Shiozawa-
Ishiuchi IC/SA		 Pref. Route 28 (Shiozawa Yamato Route) 175.2 70.6 SA: Nagaoka-bound only
BR Nakanojima Bridge ↓ ↑ Length 460m
17 Muikamachi IC National Route 253 186.6 59.2 ○
BR Hakkai Bridge ↓ ↑ Length - 610m
PA Yamato PA/
SIC		 198.0 47.8
18 Koide IC National Route 291 204.1 41.7 ○ Uonuma
18-1/
PA		 Horinouchi IC/PA Pref. Route 23 (Kashiwazaki Takahama Horinouchi Route) 211.7 34.1
BR Kawaguchi Bridge ↓ ↑ Nagaoka
19/SA Echigo-Kawaguchi IC/SA Pref. Route 83 (Kawaguchi Shiodono Route) 220.6 25.2 ○
TN Yamamotosan Tunnel ↓ ↑ Ojiya
20 Ojiya IC National Route 291 228.5 17.3 ○
100 km/h
PA Yamaya PA 230.6 15.2
BS Katakai BS 234.7 11.1 ○
BS Koshiji BS 238.4 7.4 ○ Nagaoka
<20-1> Koshiji-
Nagaokaminami IC		 Pref. Route 23 (Kashiwazaki Takahama Horinouchi Route) ↓ ↑ Planned
21 Nagaoka IC National Route 8 244.2 1.6 ○
80 km/h
(37) Nagaoka JCT Hokuriku Expressway 245.8 0.0
Through to Hokuriku Expressway

References

  1. ↑ Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Kanto Regional Development Bureau. "Road Timetable". Retrieved 2008-04-16.
  2. ↑ Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. "High Standard Trunk Road Map" (pdf). Retrieved 2008-04-13.
  3. ↑ "E-NEXCO Opening Schedule". Retrieved 2008-04-15.
  4. ↑ Nagasaki University Geo-Environment Laboratory. "Kanetsu Tunnel". Retrieved 2008-04-16.
  5. ↑ Japan Civil Engineering Contractors Association. "Construction History of Japan, 1985". Retrieved 2008-04-16.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kan-etsu Expressway.