Hidaka Expressway

Hidaka Expressway sign
Hidaka Expressway
E63 日高自動車道
Map
Route information
Maintained by East Nippon Expressway Company/Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
Length59.9 km[1] (37.2 mi)
Existed1998–present
Component
highways
National Route 235
Major junctions
West end Dō-Ō Expressway in Tomakomai, Hokkaido
East endHokkaido Route 208 in Hidaka, Hokkaido
Location
CountryJapan
Highway system

The Hidaka Expressway (Japanese: 日高自動車道ひだかじどうしゃどう, Hepburn: Hidaka Jidōsha-dō) is a partially tolled expressway in Iburi Subprefecture and Hidaka Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. The expressway connects Hidaka to the Dō-Ō Expressway. It is owned and operated by partially by the East Nippon Expressway Company and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). It is signed as an auxiliary route of National Route 235 as well as E63 under their "2016 Proposal for Realization of Expressway Numbering.[2]

Naming

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The name Hidaka is derived from the province of the same name established in 1869, which in turn was named after an unknown country "in the Eastern wilds" called Hitakami in the Nihonshoki, a history book written in 720. There is no direct connection between the Hitakami of the Nihonshoki and the modern Hidaka Subprefecture.[3]

Route description

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Lane configuration

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Section Total lanes = Westbound lanes + Eastbound Lanes Speed limit Toll
Tomakomai-higashi IC – Numanohata-nishi IC 4=2+2 100 km/h Yes
Numanohata-nishi IC – Numanohata-higashi IC 2=1+1
※partially, 4=2+2
80 km/h No
Numanohata-higashi IC – Atsuma IC 4=2+2 100 km/h
Atsuma IC – Hidaka Atsuga IC 2=1+1
※partially, 4=2+2
70 km/h

History

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A variable-message sign tells drivers that a section of the Hidaka Expressway is damaged in the aftermath of the 2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi earthquake.

The first section of the Hidaka Expressway to open was a 19.7-kilometer (12.2 mi)-long section between the western terminus at the Dō-Ō Expressway in Tomakomai and Atsuma in 1998.[4] In consideration of the effects of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, it was decided by MLIT that future sections of the expressway should follow a path further inland to avoid inundation by a tsunami. This decision has delayed further construction of the expressway.[5]

The expressway was temporarily closed after being damaged by the 2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi earthquake.[6]

Future

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Construction of the expressway is to be continued east to the town of Urakawa on the southeastern point of the island of Hokkaido.[7]

Junction list

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The entire expressway is in Hokkaido.

Locationkm[1]miExitNameDestinationsNotes
Tomakomai00.022/TBTomakomai-higashi Dō-Ō Expressway – Muroran, SapporoWestern terminus
4.02.51Numanohata-nishi National Route 235  – Central Tomakomai, Iwamizawa (Taiheiyō Ferry – to Hachinohe, Sendai, Nagoya)Eastbound exit, westbound entrance
7.94.92Numanohata-higashi National Route 235 – Central Tomakomai, IwamizawaWestbound exit, eastbound entrance
11.87.33Tomato-chuo National Route 235 – Central Tomakomai, Urakawa
Atsuma19.712.24AtsumaHokkaido Route 287 – Central Atsuma, Urakawa
Mukawa28.117.55MukawaHokkaido Route 10 – Central Mukawa, Atsuma
Hidaka39.924.86Hidakatomikawa National Route 237 – Hidaka, Urakawa
45.728.47HidakamonbetsuHokkaido Route 351 – Urakawa, HirotomiEastbound exit, westbound entrance
59.937.28Hidaka AtsugaHokkaido Route 208 – Central Atsuga, ShinwaEastbound exit, westbound entrance. Eastern terminus as of December 2018
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

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  1. ^ a b "Route of Hidaka Expressway" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  2. ^ "Japan's Expressway Numbering System". www.mlit.go.jp.
  3. ^ "231" . Page:Nihongi by Aston.djvu – via Wikisource.
  4. ^ "About Hidaka Expressway (General Route 235)". Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  5. ^ "Archived copy". www.muromin.mnw.jp. Archived from the original on 24 December 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ "北海道管内で地震による通行止めを実施しています" [We are carrying out a road closure due to an earthquake within Hokkaido]. East Nippon Expressway Company. 6 September 2018. Archived from the original on 6 September 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  7. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-12-04. Retrieved 2018-12-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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