Kan-etsu Expressway

The Kan-Etsu Expressway (関越自動車道, Kan'etsu Jidōsha-dō) is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned and managed by East Nippon Expressway Company.

Kan-Etsu Expressway
関越自動車道
Route information
Length246.3 km[1] (153.0 mi)
Existed1971[2]–present
Major junctions
FromTokyo Metropolitan Route 24
Nerima Interchange in Nerima, Tokyo
To Hokuriku Expressway
Nagaoka Junction in Nagaoka, Niigata
Location
Major citiesKawagoe, Fujioka, Takasaki, Maebashi, Ojiya
Highway system
National highways of Japan
Expressways of Japan

Naming

Kan-Etsu (関越) is the kanji acronym of Kantō () and the old Echigo Province (後国) comprising modern-day Niigata Prefecture.

Officially, the Kan-Etsu consists of two routes. Both begin in Tokyo and end in Niigata Prefecture. The Kan-Etsu Expressway Niigata Route consists of the entire Kan-Etsu Expressway from Nerima to Nagaoka, as well as the Hokuriku Expressway beyond Nagaoka to its terminus in the city of Niigata. The Kan-Etsu Expressway Jōetsu Route is concurrent with the Niigata Route until Fujioka Junction, where it branches off as the Jōshin-etsu Expressway and traverses Nagano Prefecture to its terminus in Jōetsu, Niigata.[3]

Route description

Kan-Etsu Expressway in Minamiuonuma

The expressway begins in Nerima Ward in the north of Tokyo; the Kan-etsu is the only national expressway linking Tokyo that does not have a direct connection with the urban Shuto Expressway network. A junction with the Tokyo Gaikan Expressway near the origin links the Kan-etsu with other expressways serving northern parts of the Tokyo urban area. From here the expressway follows a roughly northwesterly course to its terminus in Niigata Prefecture, passing through central areas of Saitama Prefecture and Gunma Prefecture. In Gunma the Kan-etsu Expressway provides access to Nagano Prefecture by way of the Jōshin-etsu Expressway at Fujioka Junction, and the completion of the Kita-Kantō Expressway in 2011[4] facilitated access to Tochigi Prefecture and Ibaraki Prefecture. The mountainous area separating Gunma and Niigata Prefectures is traversed by the Kan-Etsu Tunnel, the second longest road tunnel in Japan.[5] The expressway then passes through southern Niigata Prefecture before terminating at a junction with the Hokuriku Expressway in Nagaoka. The route is six lanes from Ōizumi Junction to Shibukawa-Ikaho Interchange, and all other sections are four lanes. The expressway parallels National Route 17 and the Jōetsu Shinkansen of East Japan Railway Company for most of its length.[6]

History

The first section opened in 1971 and the entire route was opened to traffic in 1985.[7] On the night of 16 December 2020, about 1,000 vehicles were trapped on the expressway after a trailer blocked it off due to it becoming stuck in the snow. In response, the company that manages the route supplied drivers who were stuck on the road until the next morning.[8] The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force was also deployed to the expressway to aid in the distribution of supplies to the stranded drivers.[9]

List of interchanges and features

Tokorozawa IC
  • IC - interchange, SIC - smart interchange, JCT - junction, SA - service area, PA - parking area, TB - toll gate, BS - bus stop, CB - snow chains, TN - tunnel, BR - bridge
No. Name Connections Dist. from
origin
Dist. from
terminus
Bus stop Notes Speed limit Location
1 Nerima IC Met. Route 24 (Nerima Tokorozawa Route / Mejiro Dōri) 0.0 246.2 80 km/h Nerima Tokyo
2 Ōizumi JCT Tokyo Gaikan Expressway 0.8 245.0 IC entrance: Nagaoka-bound only
Ōizumi IC Met. Route 24 (Nerima Tokorozawa Route / Mejiro Dōri)
TB Niiza Toll Gate Niiza Saitama
100 km/h
3 Tokorozawa IC National Route 463 (Urawa Tokorozawa Bypass) 9.4 237.6 Tokorozawa
PA Miyoshi PA/
SIC
13.9 233.1 Miyoshi
4 Kawagoe IC National Route 16 21.2 225.9 Kawagoe
BS Kawagoe-
Matoba BS
4-1 Tsurugashima JCT Ken-Ō Expressway 27.8 219.3 Tsurugashima
5 Tsurugashima IC National Route 407 29.6 217.5
5-1 Sakado-Nishi SIC Pref. Route 39 (Kawagoe Sakado Moroyama Route) 32.5 214.6 Sakado
SA Takasaka SA 34.7 212.4 Higashi-
matsuyama
6 Higashi-
matsuyama IC
National Route 254
Pref. Route 47 (Fukaya Higashimatsuyama Route)
39.4 207.7
6-1 Ranzan-Ogawa IC Pref. Route 11 (Kumagaya Ogawa Chichibu Route) 47.4 199.7 Ranzan
PA Ranzan PA 50.1 197.0
7 Hanazono IC National Route 140 56.1 191.0 Fukaya
7-1
PA
Yorii PA 63.4 183.7 SIC: Nagaoka-bound only Fukaya/
Yorii
8 Honjō-Kodama IC National Route 462 69.6 177.5 Honjō
8-1
SA
Kamisato SA/
SIC
75.5 170.6 Kamisato
9 Fujioka JCT Jōshin-etsu Expressway 78.6 167.5 Fujioka Gunma
9-1 Takasaki-Tamamura SIC National Route 354 (Takasaki-Tamamura Bypass) 82.7 163.4 Takasaki
9-2 Takasaki JCT Kita-Kantō Expressway 84.6 161.5
10 Takasaki IC Pref. Route 27 (Takasaki Komagata Route) 87.0 159.1
11 Maebashi IC National Route 17 92.1 154.0 Takasaki/
Maebashi
11-1
PA
Komayose PA/
SIC
98.5 147.6 Yoshioka
12 Shibukawa-Ikaho IC National Route 17 (Shibukawa Bypass) 103.4 142.7 Shibukawa
80 km/h
BR No.1 Tonegawa Bridge Length: 784 m
CB Miharada CB Nerima-bound only
12-1/
PA
Akagi IC/PA Pref. Route 70 (Ōmama Kamishiroi Route) 111.2 134.9
SA Akagi-kōgen SA 118.5 127.6 Shōwa
12-2 Showa IC Pref. Route 65 (Shōwa Inter Route) 120.6 125.5
13 Numata IC National Route 120 125.8 120.3 Numata
CB Numata CB Nagaoka-bound only
14 Tsukiyono IC National Route 17 131.1 115.0 Minakami
PA Shimomoku PA 135.5 110.6
BR Ōmine Bridge Length: 784 m
15 Minakami IC National Route 291 141.0 105.1
PA Tanigawadake PA 146.0 100.1
TN Kan-Etsu Tunnel Nerima-bound 11,055 m
Nagaoka-bound 10,926 m
70 km/h
Yuzawa Niigata
PA Tsuchitaru PA 157.5 88.6 80 km/h
16 Yuzawa IC National Route 17 167.0 79.1
TN Ishiuchi Tunnel Nerima-bound 1,590 m
Nagaoka-bound 1,502 m
Minami-
uonuma
SA Shiozawa-
Ishiuchi SA
(173.5) 72.3 Nerima-bound only
16-1/
SA
Shiozawa-
Ishiuchi IC/SA
Pref. Route 28 (Shiozawa Yamato Route) 175.5 70.6 SA: Nagaoka-bound only
BR Nakanojima Bridge Length: 460 m
17 Muikamachi IC National Route 253 186.9 59.2
BR Hakkai Bridge Length: 610 m
17-1/
PA
Yamato PA/
SIC
198.3 47.8
18 Koide IC National Route 291 204.4 41.7 Uonuma
18-1/
PA
Horinouchi IC/PA Pref. Route 84 (Horinouchi Inter Route) 212.1 34.0
BR Kawaguchi Bridge Nagaoka
19/SA Echigo-Kawaguchi IC/SA Pref. Route 83 (Kawaguchi Shiodono Route) 220.9 25.2
TN Yamamotosan Tunnel Nerima-bound 1,838 m
Nagaoka-bound 1,804 m
Ojiya
20 Ojiya IC National Route 291 228.8 17.3
100 km/h
PA Yamaya PA 230.9 15.2
BS Katakai BS 235.0 11.1
BS Koshiji BS 238.5 7.6 Nagaoka
20-1 Nagaokaminami-
Koshiji SIC
Pref. Route 23 (Kashiwazaki Takahama Horinouchi Route)
21 Nagaoka IC National Route 8
Pref. Route 86 (Nagaoka Inter Route)
244.5 1.6
80 km/h
(37) Nagaoka JCT Hokuriku Expressway 246.1 0.0
Through to Hokuriku Expressway

References

  1. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Kanto Regional Development Bureau. "Road Timetable". Archived from the original on 26 April 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2008.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. "Expressway Opening Dates". Retrieved 16 April 2008.
  3. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. "High Standard Trunk Road Map" (PDF). Archived from the original (pdf) on 20 September 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2008.
  4. "E-NEXCO Opening Schedule". Retrieved 2008-04-15.
  5. Nagasaki University Geo-Environment Laboratory. "Kanetsu Tunnel". Archived from the original on 2008-04-08. Retrieved 2008-04-16.
  6. "高速道路案内図" [Expressway guide map] (in Japanese). Japan Automobile Federation. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  7. Japan Civil Engineering Contractors Association. "Construction History of Japan, 1985". Archived from the original on 29 April 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2008.
  8. Kyodo (17 December 2020). "Thousand vehicles stranded, 10,000 without electricity after heavy snowfall". The Japan Times. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  9. Yamamoto, Arata; Smith, Patrick (18 December 2020). "Huge traffic jam strands hundreds after heavy snowfall in Japan". NBC News. Retrieved 19 December 2020.

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