Tōhoku-Chūō Expressway

The Tōhoku-Chūō Expressway (東北中央自動車道, Tōhoku-Chūō Jidōsha-dō) (lit. Central Tōhoku Expressway) is a 2-laned national expressway in the Tōhoku region of Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). The expressway is numbered E13 under the MLIT's "2016 Proposal for Realization of Expressway Numbering."^[2]

Tōhoku-Chūō Expressway
東北中央自動車道
Route information
Length	230.6 km (143.3 mi) Main Route (planned)
Existed	1997[1]–present
Component highways	National Route 13 / National Route 115
Major junctions
South end	Sōma Junction Jōban Expressway in Sōma, Fukushima
North end	Shimoinnai Interchange National Route 13 in Yuzawa, Akita
Location
Country	Japan
Major cities	Date, Fukushima, Yonezawa, Yamagata, Tendō, Higashine, Yuzawa
Highway system
National highways of Japan Expressways of Japan

Overview

Kuriko Tunnel as seen from the entrance in Fukushima Prefecture

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 Fukushima set to be removed by March 2021.^[3] North of the city of Shinjō, various expressway-standard roads (bypasses of National Route 13) make up the remaining distance to the city of Yokote in Akita Prefecture.^[4]

The route of the expressway parallels the Ōu Main Line of East Japan Railway Company 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

The first section of the Tōhoku-Chūō Expressway to open was between Yonezawa-kita and Yonezawa-Hachimanbara interchanges on 21 November 1997. Since then the road has gradually been extended by adding short extensions.^[5] The 8.8 km (5.5 mi) long Yonezawa-Nan'yō Road was incorporated into the Tōhoku-Chūō Expressway on 4 November 2017.^[6] MLIT began construction on the last gap of the road on 30 March 2018, a 3.5 km (2.2 mi) long section in Kaneyama, Yamagata.^[4]

List of major junctions

• PA - parking area, SA - service area, SIC - smart interchange, TB - toll gate

Prefecture	Location	km	mi	Exit	Name	Destinations	Notes
Fukushima	Sōma	0.0	0.0	23	Sōma	Jōban Expressway – Iwaki, Mito, Sendai, Ishinomaki National Route 115 – Central Sōma, Fukushima	Southern terminus
		6.0	3.7	1	Sōma-Yamakami	National Route 115 – Central Sōma, Fukushima	Northbound entrance, southbound exit
		16.5	10.3	2	Sōma-Tamano	National Route 115 – Sōma, Fukushima	Southbound entrance, northbound exit
	Date	21.5	13.4	3	Ryōzen-Iitate	National Route 115 – Sōma, Fukushima	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
		33.5	20.8	4	Ryōzen	National Route 115 – Sōma, Fukushima, Central Ryōzen	Temporary at-grade intersection
		40.9	25.4	5	Date-chūō		Scheduled to open in March 2021
		43.7	27.2	6	Date-Koori	National Route 4 – Shiroishi, Fukushima
	Koori	45.7	28.4	22-1 / TB	Koori	Tōhoku Expressway north – to Yamagata Expressway, Sendai	Southern end of Tōhoku Expressway concurrency
		Tōhoku Expressway concurrency
	Fukushima	49.5 50.0	30.8 31.1	21-1 / TB	Fukushima	Tōhoku Expressway south – Utsunomiya, Tokyo	Northern end of Tōhoku Expressway concurrency
		50.9	31.6	7	Fukushima-Ōzasō	Fukushima Prefecture Route 5 (Kaminagura Iizaka Date Route) – to National Route 13, National Route 115, Aizuwakamatsu, Yonezawa, Central Fukushima
	Fukushima/Yamagata border		61.2 69.2	38.0 43.0	Kuriko Tunnel; marking the border between Fukushima and Yamagata prefectures
Yamagata	Yonezawa	77.5	48.2	8	Yonezawa-Hachimanbara	National Route 13 – Yamagata, Nan'yō, Koriyama, Fukushima
		82.2	51.1	9	Yonezawa-chūō	Yamagata Prefecture Route 1 (Yonezawa Takahata Route)
		86.5	53.7	10 / TB	Yonezawa-kita	National Route 13 / National Route 121 (Yonezawa Bypass)
	Takahata	95.3	59.2	11	Yonezawa-Hachimanbara	National Route 13 (Nan'yō Bypass) / National Route 113 (Akayu Bypass)
	Nan'yō	102.4	63.6	PA	Nan'yō
	Kaminoyama	110.6	68.7	12	Kaminoyama Onsen	National Route 13 (Kaminoyama Bypass) / National Route 458 north
		119.7	74.4	13	Yamagata-Kaminoyama	National Route 13 (Yamagata Bypass)
	Yamagata	127.0	78.9	PA / SIC	Yamagata		Planned smart interchange[7]
		130.1	80.8	14	Yamagata-chūō	Yamagata Prefecture Route 18 (Yamagata Asahi Route)
		135.2	84.0	15	Yamagata	Yamagata Expressway – to Tōhoku Expressway, Sendai, Sakata
	Tendō	141.8 142.4	88.1 88.5	16 / TB	Tendō	Yamagata Prefecture Route 23 (Tendō Ōe Route)
	Higashine	146.8	91.2	17	Higashine	National Route 287
		151.1	93.9	18	Higashine-kita	Yamagata Prefecture Route 25 (Sagae Murayama Route)
	13.7 km gap in the expressway, connection is made primarily by National Route 13
	Murayama	164.8	102.4	21	Ōishida-Murayama	Yamagata Prefecture Route 189 (Ōishida Tsuchiuda Route)
	Obanazawa	170.1	105.7	22	Obanazawa	National Route 347
		174.1	108.2	–	Nokurosawa	National Route 13 (Obanazawa Bypass)	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
		176.5	109.7	–	Obanazawa-kita	National Route 13
		180.2	112.0	–	Kawarago	National Route 13	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
	Funagata	184.1	114.4	–	Funagata	Yamagata Prefecture Route 56 (Shinjō-Funagata Route)
	Shinjō	188.3	117.0	27	Shinjō	National Route 47 (Shinjō-minami Bypass) / Yamagata Prefecture Route 34
		193.0	119.9	–	Shinjō-kita	Yamagata Prefecture Route 308	At-grade intersection
	17.5 km gap in the expressway, connection is made primarily by National Route 13
	Kaneyama	210.5	130.8	–	Kaneyama-kita	National Route 13 north	At-grade intersection
		215.4	133.8	–	Sotosawa	National Route 13	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
	Mamurogawa	220.4	137.0	–	Mamurogawa	National Route 13 south	At-grade intersection
7.2 km gap in the expressway, connection is made by National Route 13
Akita	Yuzawa	227.6	141.4	–	Kamiinnai	National Route 13 north	At-grade intersection
		230.6	143.3	–	Shimoinnai	National Route 13 south	At-grade intersection; northern terminus
		National Route 13 through to Yuzawa-Yokote Road
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access       Unopened

See also

• Yuzawa-Yokote Road

References

1. "Yamagata Shimbun, 21 November 2007". Retrieved 12 May 2008.^{[permanent dead link]}
2. "Japan's Expressway Numbering System". www.mlit.go.jp. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
3. "本線橋架設工事始まる 「相馬福島道路」伊達桑折－伊達中央ＩＣ間４号国道上" [Main line bridge construction begins "Soma Fukushima Road" Date Koori-Date-chūō IC on National Route 4]. Fukushima Minpo (in Japanese). 28 October 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
4. ""金山道路"を新規事業化 国交省発表、東北中央道全線整備へ". Yamagata News Online (in Japanese). 18 March 2018. Archived from the original on 2 April 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
5. "山形県内の高速道路" (PDF). Yamgata Prefecture. July 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-08-25. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
6. "米沢南陽道路 米沢北ＩＣ～南陽高畠ＩＣ間道路名称の変更のお知らせについて ～１１月４日 米沢南陽道路から東北中央道に名称を変更します～" (PDF). NEXCO East (in Japanese). 14 September 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
7. "スマートインターチェンジ 新規準備段階調査箇所 一覧表" (PDF). MLIT (in Japanese). 10 August 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2019.

External links

• (in Japanese) East Nippon Expressway Company