Length 212.7 km | ||
 | ||
From: Misato Junction in Misato, Saitama
Shuto Expressway Misato Route
Tokyo Gaikan Expressway Major cities Iwaki, Mito, Tsukuba, Hitachi, Sendai, Tsuchiura, Kashiwa, Soma, Natori | ||
The Jōban Expressway (常磐自動車道, Jōban Jidōsha-dō), abbreviated Jōban-dō (常磐道), is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company.
Contents
- Map of Joban Expressway Japan
- Naming
- Overview
- List of interchanges and features
- Sendai Area Watari IC Tomiya kita IC
- References
Map of Joban Expressway, Japan
Naming
Jōban is a kanji acronym consisting of two characters. Each character represents a former province of Japan that is passed through by the route: Hitachi Province (常陸国) representing present-day Ibaraki Prefecture and Iwaki Province (磐城国) representing the eastern portion of present-day Fukushima Prefecture
The expressway carries the Jōban Expressway name from the origin at Misato Junction to Watari Interchange. From Watari Interchange to the expected terminus at Tomiya-kita Interchange, the Jōban Expressway name is currently an official designation only. The section from Watari Interchange to Sendaikō-kita Interchange is the Sendai-Tōbu Road, the section from Sendaikō-kita Interchange to Rifu Junction is the Sanriku Expressway (Senen Road), and the section from Rifu Junction to the terminus is the Sendai-Hokubu Road. It is unknown if the naming of these sections will be changed upon completion of the Jōban Expressway.
Overview
The expressway is an important route connecting the greater Tokyo area with Mito, the capital of Ibaraki Prefecture. Beyond Mito, the expressway follows a northerly route along the coast of the Pacific Ocean to the city of Iwaki in Fukushima Prefecture. Most of the route beyond Iwaki is incomplete; when completed the expressway will reach the greater Sendai area. The expressway will also supplement the Tōhoku Expressway as an access route between Tokyo and the Tōhoku region.
For most of its length the expressway parallels National Route 6 and the Jōban Line of East Japan Railway Company
The first section of the expressway was opened in 1981. The section from Jōban-Tomioka Interchange to Watari Interchange is under construction, and extensions and upgrades to the existing Sendai road network are also planned.