Tōkai-Hokuriku Expressway

The Tōkai-Hokuriku Expressway (東海北陸自動車道, Tōkaihokuriku Jidōsha-dō) is a national expressway in the Chūbu region on the island of Honshū in Japan. It is managed by Central Nippon Expressway Company. The route is signed E41 under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's "2016 Proposal for Realization of Expressway Numbering."^[3]

Tōkai-Hokuriku Expressway
東海北陸自動車道
Route information
Length	185 km[1] (115 mi)
Existed	1986[2]–present
Major junctions
From	Ichinomiya Junction in Ichinomiya, Aichi Meishin Expressway
To	Oyabe-Tonami Junction in Oyabe and Tonami, Toyama Nōetsu Expressway Hokuriku Expressway
Location
Country	Japan
Major cities	Kakamigahara, Gifu, Seki, Gujō, Takayama, Hida, Nanto, Tonami
Highway system
National highways of Japan Expressways of Japan

Overview

Tōkai and Hokuriku are the names of the two regions of Japan that are linked by the expressway.

The expressway begins at a junction with the Meishin Expressway to the northwest of the Nagoya urban area and follows a northerly course into Gifu Prefecture, passing the capital Gifu and heading further north into the mountainous Hida region. The expressway also passes by Shirakawa-gō and Gokayama, two UNESCO World Heritage Sites straddling the border between Gifu Prefecture and Toyama Prefecture. The expressway continues north through western Toyama Prefecture to its terminus at a junction with the Hokuriku Expressway and the Nōetsu Expressway.

The first section of the expressway was opened to traffic in 1986. The final section of the expressway (25 km between Hida-Kiyomi Interchange and Shirakawagō Interchange) was opened on July 5, 2008.^[1] A major component of this section is the Hida Tunnel, the second longest road tunnel in Japan^[4] after the Kan-Etsu Tunnel. A total of 1.22 trillion yen was spent on planning and construction of the expressway over 36 years.^[5]

The expressway is 4 lanes from Ichinomiya Junction to Fukubegatake Parking Area, and 2 lanes on all other sections. Construction to expand the route to 4 lanes is currently underway on the section between Fukubegatake Parking Area and Shirotori Interchange.^[6] The speed limit is 80 km/h on 4-laned sections and 70 km/h on 2-laned sections.^[1]

Features

At 1,086 meters, Matsunoki Pass between Shōkawa Interchange and Hida-Kiyomi Interchange is the highest point in the national expressway network.^[7] A parking area is planned to open at this point.

There are a total of 54 tunnels either completed or under construction. After the Hida Tunnel, the Hakamagoshi Tunnel (between Fukumitsu Interchange and Gokayama Interchange) is the longest. Trucks carrying hazardous materials are forbidden from using the tunnel and must use alternate routes.

The piers on the Washimi Bridge (between Shōkawa Interchange and Takasu Interchange) are the tallest in Japan, at 118 m.^[8]

List of interchanges and features

• IC - interchange, SIC - smart interchange, JCT - junction, SA - service area, PA - parking area, BS - bus stop, TN - tunnel, BR - bridge

No.	Name	Connections	Dist. from Origin (km)	Bus Stop	Notes	Location
1	Ichinomiya-Inazawa-kita IC	Pref. Route 14 (Gifu Inazawa Route) (Nishi-Owari Chūō Road)				Ichinomiya	Aichi
25-1	Ichinomiya JCT	Meishin Expressway	0.0
1-1	Ichinomiya-nishi IC	Pref. Route 14 (Gifu Inazawa Route)	1.0		Gifu-bound exit, Ichinomiya JCT-bound entrance only
2	Bisai IC	Pref. Route 148 (Hagiwara Sanjō Kitagata Route)	3.9		Ichinomiya JCT-bound exit, Gifu-bound entrance only
3	Ichinomiya-Kisogawa IC	National Route 22 (Meigi Bypass)	7.7
PA	Kawashima PA		11.3		Highway Oasis	Kakamigahara	Gifu
4	Gifu-Kakamigahara IC	National Route 21 (Naka Bypass)	13.3
BS	Sohara BS		18.8	○		Gifu
5	Seki IC	National Route 248 (Seki Bypass)	25.5			Seki
BS	Kose BS		27.8	○
SA	Seki SA		28.0		Gifu-bound only
SA	Nagaragawa SA		30.1		Takayama-bound only
5-1	Mino-Seki JCT	Tōkai-Kanjō Expressway	31.1
6	Mino IC	Pref. Route 94 (Gifu Mino Route)	32.4	○		Mino
PA	Kojōzan PA		38.4		Mino-bound only
7	Minami IC	National Route 156	49.6	○		Gujō
PA	Fukubegatake PA		50.8		Takayama-bound only
8	Gujō-Hachiman IC	National Route 156	59.8	○
-	Hachiman JCT	Nōbi-Ōdan Expressway			Planned
9/PA	Gifu-Yamato IC/PA	Pref. Route 52 (Shirotori Itadori Route)	66.0	○
10	Shirotori IC	Chūbu-Jūkan Expressway Pref. Route 82 (Shirotori Meihō Route)	76.4
11	Takasu IC	Pref. Route 45 (Takasu Inter Route)	84.4
11-1/SA	Hiruganokōgen SA/ SIC	Pref. Route 321 (Hiruganokōgen Route)	91.5	○
12	Shōkawa IC	National Route 158	98.3			Takayama
PA	Matsunokitōge PA		109.2 109.5		Oyabe-bound Ichinomiya-bound
13	Hida-Kiyomi IC/ JCT	Chūbu-Jūkan Expressway National Route 158	117.3
PA	Hida-Kawai PA		130.2			Hida
TN	Hida Tunnel				Length - 10,712 m
						Shirakawa
14	Shirakawagō IC	National Route 156	142.2
PA	Hida-Shirakawa PA		143.6 143.5		Oyabe-bound Ichinomiya-bound
15	Gokayama IC	National Route 156	157.4			Nanto	Toyama
TN	Hakamagoshi Tunnel		165.3		Length - 5,939 m, dangerous goods forbidden
SA	Jōhana SA/ SIC		169.9	○	Highway Oasis SIC open in 2019
16	Fukumitsu IC	National Route 304	173.8
17	Nanto SIC	Pref. Route 279 (Yasui Fukuno Route)	181.4
19	Oyabe-Tonami JCT	Hokuriku Expressway	184.8			Tonami
						Oyabe
Through to Nōetsu Expressway

Gallery

• 
  Ichinomiya Junction southbound
• 
  Bisai Interchange
• 
  Near Kawashima Parking Area
• 
  Bridge over the Kiso River
• 
  Mino-Seki Junction southbound
• 
  Gujō-Hachiman Bus Stop
• 
  Construction work to expand to 4 lanes near Gifu-Yamato Interchange
• 
  Near Takasu Interchange
• 
  Washimi Bridge
• 
  View from Hiruganokōgen Service Area facing south
• 
  Pacific Ocean-Japan Sea watershed boundary near Hiruganokōgen Service Area
• 
  Future site of Matsunokitōge Parking Area
• 
  Hida-Kiyomi Interchange
• 
  Near Shirakawagō Interchange
• 
  View from Jōhana Service Area facing north