Kamaishi Expressway
The Kamaishi Expressway (釜石自動車道, Kamaishi Jidōsha-dō) is a partially tolled two-lane national expressway in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. The expressway connects Kamaishi, Iwate on the prefecture's Pacific coast to the Tōhoku Expressway. It is owned and operated by partly by the East Nippon Expressway Company and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. The expressway is signed as an auxiliary route of National Route 283 as well as E46 under the "2016 Proposal for Realization of Expressway Numbering."[2]
| |
|---|---|
.png.webp){kind=small} 釜石自動車道 | |
| Route information | |
| Length | 79.5 km[1] (49.4 mi) |
| Existed | 2002–present |
| Component highways |  National Route 283 |
| Major junctions | |
| West end | Hanamaki Junction.png.webp){kind=small} Tōhoku Expresswayin Hanamaki, Iwate |
| East end | Kamaishi Junction.png.webp){kind=small} Sanriku Expressway inKamaishi, Iwate |
| Highway system | |
| National highways of Japan Expressways of Japan | |
Route description
From Hanamaki to Tōwa the expressway is maintained and tolled by the East Nippon Expressway Company. The rest of the expressway is able to be driven without any fees. That section of the expressway is maintained by the Tōhoku branch of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
The entire expressway has only one lane in each direction, with passing lanes at some interchanges. The speed limit is 70 km/h for the entire route, except for the section between Tōno and Miyamori.
History
The Kamaishi Expressway was first opened in 2002. There was a 10 kilometer gap in the expressway in Tōno and the expressway did not connect to its eastern terminus at a junction with the Sanriku Expressway. These missing links in the expressway were scheduled to be completed in 2018, but were instead opened later in March 2019.[1][3]
Junction list
The entire expressway is in Iwate Prefecture.
| Location | km | mi | Exit | Name | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hanamaki | 0 | 0.0 | 38-2 | Hanamaki | Tōhoku Expressway– Sendai, Aomori | Western terminus of Kamaishi Expressway. E46 continues south along E4 to the Akita Expressway. | |
| 3.7 | 2.3 | 1 | Hanamaki Airport |   National Route 4/Iwate Prefecture Route 294 – Hanamaki Airport, Morioka | |||
| 4.8 | 3.0 | TB | Hanamaki Toll Booth | ||||
| 11.4 | 7.1 | 2 | Tōwa |  National Route 283 / National Route 456 – Tōwa | |||
| Ōshū | 23 | 14 | 3 | Esashi-Tase |  National Route 107 – Ōshū, Kitakami | ||
| Tōno | 35.1 | 21.8 | 4 | Miyamori | National Route 107 – Miyamori, Ōfunato | ||
| 44.1 | 27.4 | 5 | Tōno | Iwate Prefecture Route 238 – Tōno | |||
| 46.0 | 28.6 | Nabekura Tunnel | |||||
| 55.1 | 34.2 | 6 | Tōno-Sumita |  National Route 283 / National Route 340 – Tōno, Sumita | |||
| Sumita | 59.5 | 37.0 | Akimaru Tunnel | ||||
| 60.2 | 37.4 | Rōkandō Tunnel | |||||
| 64.6 | 40.1 | 7 | Rōkandō | Iwate Prefecture Route 167 – Sumita, Rōkandō Cave | |||
| 65 | 40 | Shin-Sennin Tunnel | |||||
| Kamaishi | 69.9 | 43.4 | Kasshi Tunnel | ||||
| 73.5 | 45.7 | 8 | Kamaishi-nishi | National Route 283 – Kamaishi, Hanamaki | |||
| 76.2 | 47.3 | - | Emergency Exit | Iwate Prefectural Kamaishi Hospital | Emergency vehicles only | ||
| 79.5 | 49.4 | 40 | Kamaishi | Sanriku Expressway – Kamaishi-chūō, Miyako, Kuji, Ōfunato, Kesennuma | Eastern terminus | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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References
- "東北横断自動車道釜石秋田線 様式は精査中 (釜石～花巻)に係る新規事業採択時評価" (PDF). www.thr.mlit.go.jp.
- "Japan's Expressway Numbering System". www.mlit.go.jp.
- "釜石－花巻間 全線開通に向け大きく前進！" (pdf) (in Japanese). 31 January 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
See also
External links
- (in Japanese) East Nippon Expressway Company
