Higashi-Meihan Expressway

The Higashi-Meihan Expressway (東名阪自動車道, Higashimeihan Jidōshadō) is a four lane national expressway in the Tōkai region of Japan. It is owned and operated by Central Nippon Expressway Company.

Higashi-Meihan Expressway
東名阪自動車道
Route information
Length	55.1 km (34.2 mi)
Existed	1970[1]–present
Major junctions
From	Nagoya-nishi Junction in Nagoya Nagoya Expressway Mamba Route Mei-Nikan Expressway
To	Ise-Seki Interchange in Tsu, Mie Ise Expressway
Location
Country	Japan
Major cities	Ama, Aisai, Yatomi, Kuwana, Yokkaichi, Suzuka, Kameyama
Highway system
National highways of Japan Expressways of Japan

Naming

Meihan is a kanji acronym of two characters. The first character represents Nagoya (名古屋) and the second character represents Osaka (大阪). Higashi (東) means east; together with the Meihan Expressway and Nishi-Meihan Expressway, it forms a corridor linking the greater Nagoya and Osaka areas.

Officially, the route is designated as the Kinki Expressway Nagoya Osaka Route,^[2] however this designation does not appear on any signage. In some areas, signs on the route are written in Japanese as 東名阪道 or ひがし名阪道; this is to prevent confusion with the Tōmei Expressway which looks similar when written in Japanese.

Route description

Higashi-Meihan Expressway in Yokkaichi.

The expressway runs from Nagoya-nishi Junction in Nakagawa-ku, Nagoya to Ise-Seki Interchange in Tsu. The expressway is built to the same standards as most other national expressways, with tolls being charged according to the distance traveled. It has at least two lanes in each direction, with three in some sections.^[3]

History

The first section of what would later become the Higashi-Meihan Expressway opened to traffic in 1970.^[1]

In March 2023, a "Higashi-Meihan car crash" occurred near the Kameyama Junction in Kameyama City, Mie Prefecture, killing three people and seriously injuring five others.

List of interchanges and features

The exit numbers continue from the sequence of the Mei-Nikan Expressway, starting at 23.

• IC - interchange, SIC - smart interchange, JCT - junction, PA - parking area, SA - service area, TB - toll gate, TN - tunnel

No.	Name	Connections	Dist. from Nagoya-nishi JCT	Bus Stop	Notes	Location
Through to Nagoya Expressway Manba Route
23	Nagoya-nishi JCT	Mei-Nikan Expressway	0.0			Nakagawa-ku, Nagoya	Aichi Prefecture
24	Nagoya-nishi IC	Pref. Route 40 (Nagoya Kanie Yatomi Route)	0.8
TB	Nagoya-nishi Toll Gate					Ama
25	Kanie IC	Pref. Route 65 (Ichinomiya Kanie Route)	3.6			Kanie
-	Saya JCT	Ichinomiya-Nishiko Road (planned)				Aisai
26	Yatomi IC	National Route 155 (Yatomi Bypass)	9.0			Yatomi
27	Nagashima IC	Pref. Route 7 (Suigō Kōen Route) Pref. Route 117 (Tado Nagashima Route) Pref. Route 168 (Tatsuta Nagashima Inter Route)	12.7			Kuwana	Mie
28	Kuwana-higashi IC	National Route 258	16.0
PA	Ōyamada PA		17.0
29	Kuwana IC	Pref. Route 63 (Hoshigawa Nishibessho Route)	19.9
29-1	Yokkaichi JCT	Isewangan Expressway / Shin-Meishin Expressway	23.3			Yokkaichi
BS	Chiyoda Bus Stop			X	Closed
30	Yokkaichi-higashi IC	Pref. Route 64 (Kamiebi Mochibuku Route)	25.8
SA	Gozaisho SA		27.2
BS	Agata Bus Stop			X	Closed
31	Yokkaichi IC	National Route 477	32.2
BS	Nishiyama Bus Stop			X	Closed
32	Suzuka IC	Pref. Route 27 (Kanbe Nagasawa Route)	41.8			Suzuka
TB	Suzuka Toll Gate				Closed March 13, 2005
32-1	Kameyama JCT	Shin-Meishin Expressway	46.9			Kameyama
BS	Sumiyama Bus Stop			X	Closed
PA	Kameyama PA/ SIC		52.1		Highway Oasis
33	Kameyama IC	National Route 1 (Seki Bypass) / National Route 25 / Meihan Expressway	53.2		Ise-Seki-bound exit, Nagoya-bound entrance only
34	Ise-Seki IC	National Route 25 / Meihan Expressway	55.1		Ise-Seki IC ←→ Higashi-Meihan: No Access	Tsu
Through to Ise Expressway