Shuto Expressway

Metropolitan Expressway Co., Ltd.
首都高速道路株式会社

Type	Public
Industry	Transportation
Predecessor	Shuto Expressway Public Authority (1959–2005)
Founded	1959 (Public Authority) 2005 (Public Company)
Headquarters	Tokyo, Japan
Area served	Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, Chiba, Saitama
Key people	Katsumi Sasaki, (CEO)
Products	Maintenance
Revenue	¥444.91 billion (2008)
Number of employees	2609 (2008)
Subsidiaries	Metropolitan Expressway Service Co, Ltd.
Website	www.shutoko.jp

Shuto Expressway system shown in red, other interconnected expressways in green

Shuto Expressway (首都高速道路, Shuto Kōsoku Dōro, lit. Metropolitan Expressway) is a network of toll expressways in the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is operated and maintained by the Metropolitan Expressway Co., Ltd. (首都高速道路株式会社, Shuto Kōsoku Dōro Kabushiki-gaisha).

Most routes are grade-separated (elevated roads or tunnels) and central routes have many sharp curves and multi-lane merges which require caution to drive safely. The speed limit is 60 km/h on most routes, but 80 km/h on the Bayshore Route, and 50 km/h on the Inner Circular Route.

All trips on the expressway require a toll be paid. As of 2014, the cash toll for a standard-size car is ¥930 regardless of distance travelled. Vehicles using the ETC toll-collection system pay a distance-based toll ranging from ¥510 to ¥930 for ordinary vehicles (see toll price) – in some cases substantially less than the previous fixed-rate toll. Lower cash rates exist for certain radial routes (where there are only a few kilometers of expressway remaining) and ETC users have various time-of-day discounts. For large vehicles, the toll is doubled.

Routes

There are 24 routes currently in operation:

Circular (loop) routes

C1 Inner Circular Route
C2 Central Circular Route — loop incorporating the Yamate Tunnel.
Y Yaesu Route — via Tokyo Expressway

The Shuto Expressway as it crosses Rainbow Bridge

Near Shiodome, C1 Inner Circular Route

Shinonome Junction

Ginza, C1 Inner Circular Route

Ariake Junction

Bayshore route

B Bayshore Route (Higashi-Kanto-Expressway – ) Chidori-cho – Sachiura / Namiki ( – Yokohama–Yokosuka Expressway)

Radial routes

No. 1 Ueno Route Edobashi JCT – Iriya
No. 1 Haneda Route Hamazakibashi JCT – Haneda ( – Route K1)
No. 2 Meguro Route Ichinohashi JCT – Togoshi / Ebara
No. 3 Shibuya Route Tanimachi JCT – Yoga ( – the Tomei Expressway)
No. 4 Shinjuku Route Miyakezaka JCT – Takaido ( – the Chuo Expressway)
No. 5 Ikebukuro Route Takebashi JCT – Bijogi JCT ( – Route S5)
No. 6 Mukojima Route Edobashi JCT – Horikiri JCT ( – Route C2)
No. 6 Misato Route Kosuge JCT – Misato JCT ( – Tokyo Gaikan Expressway)
No. 7 Komatsugawa Route Ryogoku JCT – Ichinoe ( – Keiyo Road)
No. 9 Fukagawa Route Hakozaki JCT – Tatsumi JCT ( – Bayshore Route)
No. 10 Harumi Route Ariake JCT – Toyosu
No. 11 Daiba Route Shibaura JCT – Ariake JCT (Tokyo Rainbow Bridge)
No. 12 Daiba Route Shibaura JCT – Ariake JCT (Tokyo Rainbow Bridge)

Kanagawa routes

K1 Yokohane Route (Route 1 – ) Haneda - Ishikawa-cho JCT ( – Route K3)
K2 Mitsusawa Route Kinko JCT – Mitsuzawa ( – Yokohama Shindo Road and Daisan Keihin Road)
K3 Kariba Route Honmoku JCT – Kariba ( – Yokohama Shindo Road and Yokohama-Yokosuka Expressway)
K5 Daikoku Route (Route K1 – ) Namamugi JCT - Daikoku JCT ( – Bayshore Route)
K6 Kawasaki Route Tonomachi – Kawasaki-Ukishima JCT ( – Bayshore Route and Tokyo Bay Aqualine)
K7 Yokohama Kita Route (Route K1 and Route K5 – ) Namamugi JCT - Yokohama Kouhoku JCT ( – Daisan Keihin Road)

Saitama routes

S1 Kawaguchi Route (Route C2 – ) Kohoku JCT – Kawaguchi JCT ( – Tokyo Gaikan Expressway)
S2 Saitama Shintoshin Route (Route S5) Yono – SaitamaMinuma
S5 Omiya Route (Route 5 – ) Bijogi JCT – Yono ( – Route S2)

History

Rainbow Bridge on the Daiba Route

The Metropolitan Expressway was first built between Kyobashi Exit in Chūō, Tokyo and Shibaura Exit in Minato, Tokyo in 1962 for the purpose of increasing traffic flow efficiency in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, thus optimizing and improving the functionality of the traffic system. Since then, 280 kilometres of highway network has been built in the Tokyo metropolitan area; 30 kilometres more of highway are either constructed or planned, making the Metropolitan Expressway a vast network of urban expressways in the Tokyo region.

Motorcycles with passengers

Like all other expressways in Japan, two-wheeled motorcycles with passengers were banned for many years. Even though a legal amendment on 1 April 2005 generally allows a person aged at least 20 with a motorcycle driver license for at least 3 years to carry a passenger on a two-wheel motorcycle on an expressway, some segments of the Shuto still prohibit passengers. These segments include the important C1 route and adjoining central Tokyo routes. With the opening of the Yamate Tunnel Ohashi junction in 2010, motorcycles with passengers are finally able to pass through the Shuto Expressway from the Tomei to other expressways using the C2 route, although this can be a much longer drive in some cases. See this map for details.

Parking areas

There are 21 parking areas scattered throughout the Shuto Expressway system. In general these are much smaller than the service areas available every 30 km or so on inter-city expressways. In some cases they are no more than toilets, a few vending machines, and a handful of parking spaces. None have fuel – drivers must exit the system (and pay the toll again on re-entry) to use a service station.

Street racing

Like all other expressways in Japan including the Tomei Expressway, the Shuto line has become a common street racing road. One of the lines, Bayshore Route (or known as the Wangan by hashiriya), received worldwide notoriety during the 1990s as the home course for the MidNight Club, one of the most notorious street racing clubs, who were known for their 300 km/h, sometimes 320 km/h exploits.

Due to this infamy, the Wangan is the setting for several entertainment properties, such as the manga and arcade game Wangan Midnight, video games Shutokou Battle and Gran Turismo 5 and Gran Turismo 6 (without traffic) and the movie series Shuto Kousoku Trial. Numerous car enthusiast magazines and DVDs, like Best Motoring, also highlight races and activities on the Wangan.^[1]^[2]^[3]

References

↑ Hot Version Vol. 87 (Wangan Midnight homage)
↑ JDM Option International - Vol 6: 2004 D1 Grand Prix Ebisu (Chiba Footage from Tokyo WANGAN Scene)
↑ JDM Option International - Vol. 7: Super High Speed Drift (Chiba Footage from Tokyo WANGAN Scene)

External links

Official website

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Metropolitan Expressway (Tokyo).

Shuto Expressway
Tokyo Routes	Inner Circular Route Central Circular Route Yaesu Route Bayshore Route Ueno Route Haneda Route Meguro Route Shibuya Route Shinjuku Route Ikebukuro Route Mukojima Route Misato Route Komatsugawa Route Fukagawa Route Harumi Route Daiba Route Kawaguchi Route
Kanagawa Routes	Yokohane Route Mitsusawa Route Kariba Route Daikoku Route Kawasaki Route Bayshore Route
Saitama Routes	Saitama Shintoshin Route Omiya Route

Expressways of Japan
East Nippon Expressway Company	C3 Tokyo Gaikan C4 Ken-Ō E4 Tōhoku E4A Aomori E4A Hachinohe E5 Hokkaidō E5A Sasson E6 Jōban E7 Nihonkai-Tōhoku E7/E46 Akita E8 Hokuriku E13 Tōhoku-Chūō E14 Tateyama E17 Kan-Etsu E18 Jōshin-etsu E19 Nagano E38 Dōtō E46 Kamaishi E48 Yamagata E49 Ban-etsu E50 Kita-Kantō E51 Higashi-Kantō E65 Shin-Kūkō
Central Nippon Expressway Company	C4 Ken-Ō E1 Tōmei E1 Meishin E1A Shin-Tōmei E1A Isewangan E1A Shin-Meishin E8 Hokuriku E19/E20 Chūō E19 Nagano E23 Higashi-Meihan E23 Ise E41 Tōkai-Hokuriku E42 Kisei E52 Chūbu-Ōdan
West Nippon Expressway Company	E1 Meishin E1A Shin-Meishin E2 Sanyō E2A Chūgoku E2A Kammonkyō Bridge E3 Kyūshū E9 San-in E10/E78 Higashikyūshū E10 Miyazaki E11/E32 Tokushima E11 Takamatsu E11/E56 Matsuyama E25 Nishi-Meihan E26 Kinki E26/E42 Hanwa E27 Maizuru-Wakasa E29 Harima E32/E56 Kōchi E34 Ōita E34 Nagasaki E54 Onomichi E54 Matsue E58 Okinawa E71 Kansai-Kūkō E73 Okayama E73 Yonago E74 Hiroshima E74 Hamada
Honshū-Shikoku Bridge Expressway Company	E28 Kobe-Awaji-Naruto E30 Seto-Chūō E76 Nishiseto
Urban Expressways	Fukuoka & Kitakyūshū Hanshin Hiroshima Nagoya Shuto Tokyo

Coordinates: 35°39′39″N 139°44′15″E / 35.660814°N 139.737560°E / 35.660814; 139.737560

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