Jōban Expressway

The Jōban Expressway (常磐自動車道, Jōban Jidōsha-dō), abbreviated Jōban-dō (常磐道), is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company. It is signed E6 under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's "2016 Proposal for Realization of Expressway Numbering."[3]

Jōban Expressway
常磐自動車道
Route information
Length300.4 km[1] (186.7 mi)
Existed1981[2]–present
Major junctions
South endMisato Junction
Shuto Expressway Misato Route
Tokyo Gaikan Expressway
in Misato, Saitama
North endWatari Interchange
Sendai-Tōbu Road
Miyagi Prefecture Route 269
in Watari, Miyagi
Location
Major citiesKashiwa, Tsukuba, Tsuchiura, Mito, Hitachi, Iwaki, Natori, Sendai
Highway system
National highways of Japan
Expressways of Japan

Route description

The expressway is an important route connecting the greater Tokyo area with Mito, the capital of Ibaraki Prefecture. Beyond Mito, the expressway follows a northerly route along the coast of the Pacific Ocean to the city of Iwaki in Fukushima Prefecture. Continuing north along the coast, the expressway enters the greater Sendai area. The expressway supplements the Tōhoku Expressway as an access route between Tokyo and the Tōhoku region.

For most of its length the expressway parallels National Route 6 and the Jōban Line of East Japan Railway Company.

The expressway gets within about six kilometers from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. On a 14.3 km (8.9 mi) of the expressway opened on 1 March 2015, signs update drivers about what the radiation level is in the impacted area.[4]

Naming

Jōban is a kanji acronym consisting of two characters. Each character represents a former province of Japan that is passed through by the route: Hitachi Province (常陸国) representing present-day Ibaraki Prefecture and Iwaki Province (磐城国) representing the eastern portion of present-day Fukushima Prefecture

The expressway carries the Jōban Expressway name from the origin at Misato Junction to Watari Interchange. From Watari Interchange to the expected terminus at Tomiya-kita Interchange, the Jōban Expressway name is currently an official designation only.[5] The section from Watari Interchange to Sendaikō-kita Interchange is the Sendai-Tōbu Road, the section from Sendaikō-kita Interchange to Rifu Junction is the Sanriku Expressway (Senen Road), and the section from Rifu Junction to the terminus is the Sendai-Hokubu Road. It is unknown if the naming of these sections will be changed upon completion of the Jōban Expressway.

The expressway has a speed limit of 70 km/h between Iwaki-chūō Interchange and its northern terminus at Watari, a limit of 80 km/h between its southern terminus and Kashiwa Interchange and between Hitachiminami-Ōta and Iwaki-chūō interchanges, and a speed limit of 100 km/h on the remainder of the expressway.

History

The first section of the expressway was opened in 1981. The section from Jōban-Tomioka Interchange to Watari Interchange is under construction,[6] and extensions and upgrades to the existing Sendai road network are also planned.[7]

List of junctions and features
PrefectureLocationkmmiExitNameDestinationsNotes
SaitamaMisato0.00.01Misato Tokyo Gaikan Expressway – Ōizumi, Matsudo
  National Route 298 – Kan-etsu Expressway, Tōhoku Expressway, Sōka, Central Misato
Misato Route – to Central Circular Route, Ginza		Southern terminus, expressway continues as the Misato Route of the Shuto Expressway network; Tokyo Gaikan Expressway exit 80
2.2–
2.4		1.4–
1.5		Misato Tunnel
4.22.6TBMisato
4.22.61-1Misato-ryōkinjoSaitama Prefecture Route 52 (Koshigaya Nagareyama Route)Smart interchange; northbound entrance, southbound exit
Chiba–Saitama prefecture border4.9
6.3		3.0
3.9		Edogawa Bridge over the Edo River
ChibaNagareyama6.13.81-2NagareyamaChiba Prefectuere Route 5 (Matsudo Noda Route)
Kashiwa10.86.72Kashiwa National Route 16
Chiba–Ibaraki prefecture border13.0
13.8		8.1
8.6		Tonegawa Bridge over the Tone River
IbarakiMoriya15.59.6SAMoriya
Tsukubamirai19.111.93Yawara National Route 294
20.4–
20.6		12.7–
12.8		Kokaigawa Bridge over the Kokai River
Tsukuba30.318.84YatabeIbaraki Prefecture Route 19 (Toride Tsukuba Route)
34.621.54-1Tsukuba Ken-Ō ExpresswayKen-Ō Expressway exit 80
36.122.4PAYatabe-higashi
Tsuchiura38.724.05Sakura-Tsuchiura National Route 354
46.629.06Tsuchiura-kita National Route 125
Kasumigaura50.431.3PAChiyoda
54.734.07Chiyoda-Ishioka National Route 6
Kasumigaura–Ishioka border56.2
56.8		34.9
35.3		Koisegawa Bridge over the Koise River
Ishioka60.937.87-1Ishioka-Omitama National Route 355Smart interchange
Omitama63.239.3PAMinori
Kasama69.142.98IwamaIbaraki Prefecture Route 43 (Ibaraki Iwama Route)
71.2–
71.4		44.2–
44.4		Hinumagawa Bridge over the Hinuma River
72.845.2SA / 8-1TomobeIbaraki Prefecture routes 16 (Ōarai Tomobe Route) / 52 (Ishioka Shirosato Route)Smart interchange
74.046.08-2Tomobe Kita-Kantō Expressway
Mito82.051.09Mito National Route 50
85.653.2PATano
86.6–
87.0		53.8–
54.1		Tano Overpass
87.754.59-1Mito-kita National Route 123, Ibaraki Prefecture routes 51 (Mito Motegi Route) / 63 (Mito Katsuta Nakaminato Route)Smart interchange; northbound exit, southbound entrance
88.2–
88.7		54.8–
55.1		Nakagawa Bridge over the Naka River
Naka93.858.310NakaIbaraki Prefecture Route 65 (Naka Inter Route)
Tōkai101.763.2PA / 10-1TōkaiIbaraki Prefecture Route 62 (Hitachinaka Port Yamagata Route)Smart interchange
Naka–Hitachi border102.8–
103.5		63.9–
64.3		Kujigawa Bridge over the Kuji River
Hitachi105.365.411Hitachiminami-Ōta National Route 6 / National Route 293
Hitachiōta108.4–
110.8		67.4–
68.8		Hitachi Tunnel
Hitachi110.8–
112.6		68.8–
70.0		Ōkubo tunnels
112.6–
113.9		70.0–
70.8		Suwa tunnels
114.4–
115.2		71.1–
71.6		Narusawa Tunnel
115.2–
117.0		71.6–
72.7		Sukegawa Tunnel
117.573.0PA / 11-1Hitachi-chūō Hitachi Toll Road north
118.1–
118.2		73.4–
73.4		Sukegawa Tunnel
118.2–
118.8		73.4–
73.8		Daiōin Tunnel
119.1–
121.0		74.0–
75.2		Kurakake Tunnel
122.7–
122.9		76.2–
76.4		Ogitsu Tunnel
124.377.212Hitachi-kita National Route 6
Ibaraki Prefecture Route 10 (Hitachi Iwaki Route)
126.2–
126.5		78.4–
78.6		Jūō Tunnel
Takahagi135.284.013TakahagiIbaraki Prefecture Route 67 (Takahagi Inter Route)
Kitaibaraki136.684.9SANakagō
142.488.514KitaibarakiIbaraki Prefecture Route 69 (Kitaibaraki Inter Route)
146.7–
148.1		91.2–
92.0		Sekinami Tunnel
148.3–
148.5		92.1–
92.3		Sekimoto Tunnel
150.393.4PASekimoto
FukushimaIwaki154.596.015Iwaki-Nakoso National Route 289
161.0100.015-1Iwaki-OnahamaFukushima Prefecture Route 20 (Iwaki Kamimisaka Ono Route)Exit opens in 2021
167.1103.816Iwaki-YumotoFukushima Prefecture Route 14 (Iwaki Ishikawa Route)
169.4105.3PAYunotake
171.2106.416-1Iwaki Ban-etsu Expressway west
175.5109.117Iwaki-chūō National Route 49
179.4–
179.8		111.5–
111.7		Natsuigawa Bridge
185.7115.4PAYotsukura
188.3117.018Iwaki-YotsukuraFukushima Prefecture Route 35 (Iwaki Namie Route)
194.3–
194.8		120.7–
121.0		Ōhisa Tunnel
Hirono202.1125.619HironoFukushima Prefecture Route 393 (Kamikitaba Shimokitaba Route)
Naraha197.5–
198.9		122.7–
123.6		Kidogawa Bridge
207.4128.9PA / 19-1NarahaFukushima Prefecture Route 35 (Iwaki Namie Route)Smart interchange
Tomioka218.5135.820Jōban-TomiokaFukushima Prefecture Route 36 (Ono Tomioka Route)
Ōkuma222.5138.320-1ŌkumaFukushima Prefecture Route 251 (Oragahama Nogami Route)
Futaba227.9141.620-2Jōban-FutabaFukushima Prefecture Route 256 (Ide Nagatsuka Route)
Namie232.8144.721Namie National Route 114 / National Route 459
Minamisōma251.2156.122Minami-SōmaFukushima Prefecture Route 12 (Haramachi Kawamata Route)
257.7160.1SA / 22-1Minami-Sōma KashimaFukushima Prefecture Route 34 (Sōma Namie Route)Smart interchange; SIC only open between 06:00-22:00
Sōma265.6165.023Sōma Tōhoku-Chūō Expressway north – Fukushima
National Route 115 – Central Sōma, Fukushima
Shinchi274.1170.324Shinchi National Route 113
MiyagiYamamoto280.6174.424-1Yamamoto-minamiMiyagi Prefecture Route 44 (Kakuda Yamamoto Route)Smart interchange
288.9179.525Yamamoto National Route 6
Watari295.0183.3PA / 25-1TorinoumiMiyagi Prefecture Route 38 (Sōma Watari Route) via Watari SIC LineSmart interchange
300.4186.71WatariMiyagi Prefecture Route 269 (Watari Inter Route)
Expressway continues as Sendai-Tōbu Road
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References
  1. "E-NEXCO Expressway Data". Archived from the original on 2007-12-13. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
  2. "History of Tsukuba City". Retrieved 2008-04-16.
  3. "Japan's Expressway Numbering System". www.mlit.go.jp.
  4. Jun Hongo (19 February 2015). "Highway to Open Near Fukushima Nuclear Plant; No Exits Allowed". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  5. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. "High Standard Trunk Road Map" (PDF). Archived from the original (pdf) on September 20, 2011. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
  6. "E-NEXCO Opening Schedule". Retrieved 2008-04-15.
  7. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Tohoku Regional Development Bureau. "Sendai Hokubu Road Profile". Archived from the original on 2008-04-02. Retrieved 2008-04-16.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

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