Chūō Expressway

Chūō Expressway
Chūō Expressway
中央自動車道
Route information
Length	366.8 km (227.9 mi) Main Route - 344.9 km; Kawaguchiko Route - 21.9 km
Existed	1967–present
Major junctions
From	in Suginami, Tokyo; Shuto Expressway Shinjuku Route; Tokyo Metropolitan Route 14
To	in Komaki, Aichi; Tōmei Expressway; in Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi; Higashifuji-goko Road; National Route 139
Location
Major cities	Hachiōji, Sagamihara, Ōtsuki, Kōfu, Suwa, Okaya, Iida, Nakatsugawa, Tajimi, Kasugai
Highway system
	National highways of Japan; Expressways of Japan

The Chūō Expressway (中央自動車道, Chūō Jidōsha-dō, lit. Central Motorway, formerly Chūō Kōsoku-dōro (中央高速道路) until 1972) is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by NEXCO Central.

Naming[]

Officially the expressway is designated as the Chūō Expressway Nishinomiya Route (from Takaido Interchange to Komaki Junction), the Chūō Expressway Nagano Route (from Takaido Interchange to ), and the Chūō Expressway Fujiyoshida Route (from Takaido Interchange through to Kawaguchiko Interchange, this section being a branch of the main route).^[4] These designations do not appear on any signage as all sections are signed simply as the Chūō Expressway.

Overview[]

The Ch��ō Expressway is a major roadway connecting the greater Tokyo and Nagoya urban areas, a role also shared by the Tōmei Expressway. While the Tōmei Expressway follows a coastal route, the Chūō Expressway follows an inland route through the mountainous regions of Kanagawa, Yamanashi, Nagano, and Gifu Prefectures, its highest point (1,015 meters above sea level) being at 157.3 km point sandwiched between the Yatsugatake Mountains and Southern Japanese Alps. In addition, a branch of the expressway in Yamanashi Prefecture known as the Kawaguchiko Route facilitates access to Mount Fuji and the Fuji Five Lakes area.

The expressway is 4 lanes for its entire length except for the section between and Ōtuski Junction, which is 6 to 7 lanes. This section was originally 4 lanes as well, however increasing traffic volume led to the construction of a new parallel roadway for Uenohara-bound traffic, with the original 4 lanes of roadway being converted for the use of Ōtsuki-bound traffic only.

Tolls on the section from Takaido Interchange to are charged at a flat rate. As of April 2008 the toll on this section is 600 yen for a regular passenger car. Tolls on all other sections of the expressway are assessed according to distance travelled in the same manner as most other national expressways.^[5] Also, tolls on the section from to are assessed at 1.6 times the normal rate to account for the high cost of constructing the . Vehicles carrying dangerous materials are forbidden from using this tunnel and must use alternate routes.

History[]

The Chūō Expressway affords many fine views of Mount Fuji.

Near Futaba Junction

Chūō Expressway in Fujimi, Nagano

December 15, 1967 - Chōfu Interchange - Hachiōji Interchange section opened.
December 20, 1968 - Hachiōji Interchange - Sagamiko Interchange section opened.
March 17, 1969 - Sagamiko Interchange - Kawaguchiko Interchange section opened.
October 5, 1972 - Tajimi Interchange - Komaki Junction section opened, connecting with the Tōmei Expressway.
September 6, 1973 - Mizunami Interchange - Tajimi Interchange section opened.
March 5, 1975 - Nakatsugawa Interchange - Mizunami Interchange section opened.
August 23, 1975 - Komagane Interchange - Nakatsugawa Interchange section opened (Enasan Tunnel opened with 2 lanes of traffic only).
May 18, 1976 - Takaido Interchange - Chōfu Interchange section opened.
September 18, 1976 - Ihoku Interchange - Komagane Interchange section opened.
December 19, 1976 - Nirasaki Interchange - Kobuchisawa Interchange section opened.
December 20, 1977 - Ōtsuki Junction - Katsunuma Interchange section opened.
November 16, 1979 - Komaki-higashi Interchange opened.
March 26, 1980 - Kōfu-Shōwa Interchange - Nirasaki Interchange section opened.
March 30, 1981 - Kobuchisawa Interchange - Ihoku Interchange section opened.
November 10, 1982 - Katsunuma Interchange - Kōfu-Shōwa Interchange section opened, completing the entire route.
November, 1984 - Tsuru Interchange opened.
March 25, 1986 - Okaya Junction - Okaya Interchange section opened.
August 28, 1986 - Connection to Higashifuji-goko Road at Kawaguchiko Interchange is completed.
September 27, 1986 - Nagasaka Interchange opened.
March 5, 1988 - Okaya Junction - Okaya Interchange section is transferred to the Nagano Expressway.
September 27, 1989 - Uenohara Interchange opened.
March 25, 1992 - Sonohara Interchange opened.
January, 1993 - Renovation of Dangōzaka Service Area completed. The Komaki-bound service area is moved 2 km closer to Tokyo, while the Tokyo-bound service area is moved to the former site of the Komaki-bound service area.
April 14, 1995 - Inagi Interchange opened.
March 24, 2002 - Futaba Junction is opened, connecting with the Chūbu-Ōdan Expressway.
March 16, 2003 - Reconstruction of the Uenohara Interchange - Ōtsuki Junction section is completed (additional lanes added, areas with sharp curves abandoned, Tokyo-bound Dangōzaka Service Area renovated, area near Ōtsuki Junction susceptible to traffic weaving eliminated).
March 19, 2005 - Toki Junction is opened, connecting with the Tōkai-Kanjō Expressway.
October 1, 2005 - Expressway management is transferred from Japan Highway Public Corporation to Central Nippon Expressway Company as a result of the privatization of the national expressway network.
October 1, 2006 - Futaba Smart Interchange opened.
June 23, 2007 - Hachiōji Junction is opened, connecting with the Ken-Ō Expressway.
December 2, 2012 - Sasago Tunnel collapses, killing nine people.^[6]

List of interchanges and features[]

IC - interchange, SIC - smart interchange, JCT - junction, SA - service area, PA - parking area, BS - bus stop, TN - tunnel, TB - toll gate

Main Route[]

No.	Name	Connections	Dist. from Origin	Bus Stop	Notes	Speed Limit	Location
Through to Shuto Expressway Shinjuku Route
1		Met. Route 14 (Shinjuku Kunitachi Route) ()	0.0		Tokyo-bound exit only	60 km/h	Suginami	Tokyo
<2>		Tokyo Gaikan Expressway			Planned		Mitaka
BS			4.0	○
TB			4.0		Komaki-bound only
TB			4.0		Komaki-bound only	80 km/h
BS			6.0	○			Chōfu
3		National Route 20 (Kōshū Kaidō)	7.7				Chōfu
3-1		Met. Route 9 (Kawasaki Fuchū Route)	10.0		Komaki-bound exit, Takaido-bound entrance only		Fuchū
3-1		Met. Route 9 (Kawasaki Fuchū Route)	10.0		Komaki-bound exit, Takaido-bound entrance only	100 km/h
BS		Met. Route 9 (Kawasaki Fuchū Route)	11.5	○	SIC: Takaido-bound exit, Komaki-bound entrance only
4		National Route 20 ()	17.0				Kunitachi
BS			20.0	○			Hino
PA			23.3 23.5		Takaido-bound Komaki-bound		Hachiōji
5-1		National Route 16 ()	25.8		Komaki-bound only
5-2		National Route 16			Komaki-bound only
5 TB 5		National Route 16			Exit is Takaido-bound only
BS			31.0	○		80 km/h
-		Met. Route 61 (Yamada Miyanomae Route)	33.2		open in 2021
6		Ken-Ō Expressway	36.0
7	Sagamiko Higashi Exit	National Route 20	42.4		Komaki-bound only		Sagamihara	Kanagawa
BS			42.9	○
8		National Route 20	45.4
PA			46.5
9		Pref. Route 35 (Yokkaichiba Uenohara Route)	50.3	○			Uenohara	Yamanashi
SA			55.6		Komaki-bound
SA			57.7	○	Takaido-bound
BS			65.1	○			Ōtsuki
10		National Route 20	70.4
11		Chūō Expressway (Kawaguchiko Route)	71.4
BS			72.8	○
PA			74.8
BS			78.7	○
BS			78.7	○		70 km/h
BS			86.4	○			Kōshū
12		National Route 20 ()	90.5
12		National Route 20 ()	90.5			80 km/h
PA			92.8	○
PA			92.8	○			Fuefuki
BS			95.2	○
13		National Route 137	96.6
BS			98.7	○
13-1		Pref. Route 22 (Kōfu Fuefuki Route) Pref. Route 313 (Fujinuta Isawa Route)	100.6	○
PA			104.2 104.5	○	Takaido-bound Komaki-bound
14		National Route 358	106.2	○			Kōfu
-			108.5		open in 2019		Kōfu
BS			112.3	○			Shōwa
15		National Route 20 ()	113.8				Shōwa
15-1		Pref. Route 6 (Kōfu Nirasaki Route) Pref. Route 25 (Kai Chūō Route)	118.5	○	SIC: Komaki-bound exit, Takaido-bound entrance only		Kai
15-2		Chūbu-Ōdan Expressway	120.4
-		National Route 20 () (planned) Pref. Route 616 (Shimokamijō Miyakubo Emidō Route)			Planned
16		Pref. Route 27 (Nirasaki Shōsenkyō Route)	125.0				Nirasaki
BS			129.5	○			Hokuto
17		National Route 141	132.0
17		National Route 141	132.0			70 km/h
BS			140.1	○
17-1		Pref. Route 32 (Nagasaka Takane Route)	140.7
17-1		Pref. Route 32 (Nagasaka Takane Route)	140.7			80 km/h
-		Chūbu-Ōdan Expressway (Planned)			Planned
PA			143.1	○
18		Pref. Route 11 (Hokuto Fujimi Route)	148.9				Fujimi	Nagano
BS			157.7	○
19		Pref. Route 425 (Haraizawa Fujimi Route) Pref. Route 90 (Suwa-minami Inter Route)	161.5
PA			163.8	○	Komaki-bound		Hara
PA			164.6		Takaido-bound		Hara
BS			169.9	○			Chino
20		National Route 20 ()	172.6				Suwa
BS			177.3	○
SA			178.5
SA			178.5				Okaya
21		Nagano Expressway	182.7		From Okaya JCT to Komaki JCT the Chūō Expressway is signed "E19"
BS			186.0	○
PA			192.7	○			Tatsuno
22		National Route 153	196.7	○			Tatsuno
22		National Route 153	196.7	○			Minowa
BS			200.5	○			Minowa
23		Pref. Route 476 (Ina Inter Nishiminowa Route) Pref. Route 87 (Ina Inter Route)	206.2	○			Minamiminowa
23			206.2	○			Ina
23-1			209.1
BS			212.2	○
BS			217.4	○			Miyada
24		Pref. Route 75 (Komagane Komagatake Kōen Route)	221.4	○			Komagane
24-1			224.7				Komagane
BS			228.7	○			Iijima
25		Pref. Route 15 (Iijima Iida Route) Pref. Route 59 (Matsukawa Inter Ōshika Route)	236.7	○			Matsukawa
BS			243.1	○			Takamori
PA			245.3				Iida
BS			248.9	○
26		National Route 153 ()	252.2	○
26-1		San-en Nanshin Expressway	257.4
PA			259.8	○			Achi
PA			259.8	○		70 km/h
26-1		Pref. Route 89 (Sonohara Inter Route) Pref. Route 477 (Fujimidai Kōen Route)	267.0	○	Takaido-bound exit, Komaki-bound entrance only
TN			271.0		Length - 8,649 m, dangerous goods forbidden
TN			271.0		Length - 8,649 m, dangerous goods forbidden		Nakatsugawa	Gifu
PA			278.9	○		80 km/h
27		National Route 19	288.9	○
SA			294.4				Ena
28		Pref. Route 68 (Ena Shirakawa Route)	298.3	○			Ena
PA			310.2 311.4		Takaido-bound Komaki-bound		Mizunami
BS			314.8	○
29		Pref. Route 47 (Mizunami Inter Route)	316.4
30		National Route 21	320.9	○			Toki
30-1		Tōkai-Kanjō Expressway	323.4				Toki
PA			327.9		Takaido-bound only		Tajimi
31		National Route 248	329.7	○			Tajimi
PA			336.2				Kasugai	Aichi
32		Pref. Route 49 (Kasugai Inuyama Route)	337.8				Komaki
BS			343.0	○
23		Tōmei Expressway	344.9

Changing areas for snow chains
- Achi PA - Sonohara IC
- Hatsukari PA - Katsunuma IC
- Sutama IC - Nagasaka IC (Komaki-bound)
- Yatsugatake PA - Kobuchisawa IC (Two areas Komaki-bound)
- Kobuchisawa IC - Suwa-minami IC
- Okaya JCT - Tatsuno PA

Kawaguchiko Route[]

No.	Connections	Dist. from	Bus Stop	Notes	Location (all in Yamanashi)
11	Chūō Expressway	71.4			Ōtsuki
BS		73.2	○		Tsuru
1	Pref. Route 705 (Takahatake Yamura Teishajō Route) Pref. Route 40 (Tsuru Inter Route)	77.6	○	Fujiyoshida-bound exit, Ōtsuki-bound entrance only
PA		79.4 79.7		Ōtsuki-bound Fujiyoshida-bound
BS		84.7	○		Nishikatsura
BS		89.8	○		Fujiyoshida
1-1	Pref. Route 718 (Fujiyoshida Nishikatsura Route)	93.9			Fujiyoshida
2	National Route 139	93.9		Fujiyoshida-bound exit, Ōtsuki-bound entrance only	Fujikawaguchiko
Through to Higashifuji-goko Road

The speed limit on the Kawaguchiko Route is 80 km/h.
To prevent confusion with the main route, kilometer markers along the Kawaguchiko Route show the distance from Takaido Interchange plus 300 (the marker at Ōtsuki Junction is 371.4 while the marker at Kawaguchiko Interchange is 393.9)

References[]

^ Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. "Road Timetable". Archived from the original on 2004-06-04. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. "Road Timetable". Archived from the original on 2004-06-04. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
^ Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. "History of Tokyo's 3 Ring Roads". Archived from the original on 2008-04-02. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
^ Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. "High Standard Trunk Road Map" (PDF). Archived from the original (pdf) on 2011-09-20. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
^ "E-NEXCO Drive Plaza Route Search". Retrieved 2008-04-13.
^ "At least three dead after Japan tunnel collapse: TV". Reuters. Yahoo! Sports. 2012-12-02. Retrieved 2012-12-02.

External links[]

Central Nippon Expressway Company Archived 2008-12-09 at the Wayback Machine

[1] Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. "Road Timetable". Archived from the original on 2004-06-04. Retrieved 2008-04-17.

[kawa-2] Jump up to: ^a ^b Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. "Road Timetable". Archived from the original on 2004-06-04. Retrieved 2008-04-17.

[3] Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. "History of Tokyo's 3 Ring Roads". Archived from the original on 2008-04-02. Retrieved 2008-04-17.

[gov-4] Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. "High Standard Trunk Road Map" (PDF). Archived from the original (pdf) on 2011-09-20. Retrieved 2008-04-13.

[5] "E-NEXCO Drive Plaza Route Search". Retrieved 2008-04-13.

[6] "At least three dead after Japan tunnel collapse: TV". Reuters. Yahoo! Sports. 2012-12-02. Retrieved 2012-12-02.

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show v t Central Nippon Expressway Company
National Expressways	C2 Mei-Nikan E1 Tōmei E1 Meishin E1A Shin-Tōmei E1A Isewangan E1A Shin-Meishin E8 Hokuriku E19/E20/E68 Chūō E19 Nagano E23 Higashi-Meihan E23 Ise E27 Maizuru-Wakasa E41 Tōkai-Hokuriku E42 Kisei E52 Chūbu-Ōdan
Toll Roads	C3 Tōkai-Kanjō Expressway C4 Ken-Ō E67 Chūbu-Jūkan E68 Higashifuji-goko Road E84 Seishō Bypass E84 Shin-Shōnan Bypass E85 Odawara-Atsugi Road

show v t Expressways of Japan
East Nippon Expressway Company	C3 Tokyo Gaikan C4/E66 Ken-Ō CA Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line E4 Tōhoku E4A Aomori E4A Hachinohe E5 Dō-Ō E5A Sasson E5A Shiribeshi E6 Jōban E7 Nihonkai-Tōhoku E7/E46 Akita E8 Hokuriku E13 Tōhoku-Chūō E14 Tateyama E17 Kan-etsu E18 Jōshin-etsu E19 Nagano E38/E61 Dōtō E45 Sanriku E46 Kamaishi E48 Yamagata E49 Ban-etsu E50 Kita-Kantō E51 Higashi-Kantō E65 Shin-Kūkō
Central Nippon Expressway Company	C2 Mei-Nikan C3 Tōkai-Kanjō C4 Ken-Ō E1 Tōmei E1 Meishin E1A/E52/E69 Shin-Tōmei E1A Isewangan E1A Shin-Meishin E8 Hokuriku E19/E20/E68 Chūō E19 Nagano E23 Higashi-Meihan E23 Ise E27 Maizuru-Wakasa E41 Tōkai-Hokuriku E42 Kisei E52 Chūbu-Ōdan
West Nippon Expressway Company	E1 Meishin E1A Shin-Meishin E2 San'yō E2A Chūgoku E2A Kanmon Bridge E3 Kyushu E3A Minamikyushu E9 San'in E10/E78 Higashikyushu E10 Miyazaki E11/E32 Tokushima E11 Takamatsu E11/E56 Matsuyama E24 Keinawa E25 Nishi-Meihan E26 Kinki E26/E42 Hanwa E27 Maizuru-Wakasa E29 Harima E32/E56 Kōchi E34 Ōita E34 Nagasaki E35 Nishi-Kyūshū E54 Matsue E58 Okinawa E71 Kansai-Kūkō E73 Okayama E73 Yonago E74 Hamada E74 Hiroshima
Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Expressway Company	E28 Kobe-Awaji-Naruto E30 Seto-Chūō E76 Nishiseto
MLIT	E4A Kamikita E5 Hakodate Shindō E5A Kuromatsunai Shindō E9 San'in Kinki E25 Meihan E29 Tottori E38/E44 Kushiro Sotokan E39 Asahikawa-Monbetsu E41 Nōetsu E41/E86 Noto-Satoyama E45 Hachinohe-Kuji E45 Sanriku E45 Sanriku-kita Jūkan E54 Onomichi E55 Kōchi-Tōbu E55 Tokushima-Nanbu E58 Naha Airport E59 Hakodate-Esashi E60 Obihiro-Hiroo E61 Tokachi-Okhotsk E62 Fukagawa-Rumoi E63 Hidaka E64 Tsugaru E67 Chūbu-Jūkan E69 San-en Nanshin E70 Izu-Jūkan E72 Kitakinki-Toyooka E75 Higashihiroshima-Kure E77 Kyushu Chūō
Urban Expressways	Fukuoka & Kitakyushu Hanshin Hiroshima Nagoya Shuto Tokyo
Prefecture Maintained Routes	E4A Daini-Michinoku E4A Michinoku E80 Abukuma Kōgen E81 Nikkō Utsunomiya E87 Chitahantō E95 Bantan Renraku E97 Ōita Airport