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Kamikita Expressway
; Kamikita Expressway
上北自動車道
	The Kamikita Expressway highlighted in red
Route information
	Maintained by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
Length	23.8 km (14.8 mi)
Existed	March 24, 2013–present
Component; highways	National Route 45
Major junctions
South end	Rokunohe Junction; Daini-Michinoku Toll Road in Rokunohe, Aomori
North end	Shichinohe-kita Interchange; National Route 4; Shichinohe, Aomori
Location
Country	Japan
Highway system
	National highways of Japan; Expressways of Japan;

The Kamikita Expressway (上北自動車道 Kamikita Jidōshyadō) is a free two-lane expressway in Aomori Prefecture connecting the towns of Shichinohe and Rokunohe. Alongside other tolled roads, the expressway is part of a series of highways that will link the Hachinohe Expressway to the Aomori Expressway. The road is managed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and is numbered E4A as an extension of the Tōhoku Expressway. It is routed concurrently with an alternate route of Japan National Route 45.^[2]

Route description

The Kamikita Expressway will be made up of three sections upon completion. The easternmost section, named Kamikita Road, begins at the Kamikita Expressway's eastern terminus. This terminus lies at Rokunohe Junction, where the free expressway has a junction with the Daini-Michinoku Toll Road, a road tolled by the Aomori Prefecture Road Corporation. From this intersection, the expressway follows a northwestern heading through Rokunohe into the town, Tōhoku. In Tōhoku, the expressway meets Aomori Prefecture Route 211 at its former western terminus, Kamikita Interchange. West of this interchange lies the Kamikita-Tenmabayashi Road, a section of road that extends the route 7.8 kilometers (4.8 mi) to its current western terminus with National Route 394. Beyond Route 394, the expressway is known as the Tenmabayashi Road, a 8.3 kilometers (5.2 mi) section that is currently under construction. This section, once completed, will run to the expressway's future western terminus at National Route 4.^[3]

The speed limit is 70 km/h for the entire route; however, during the winter the speed limit is reduced to 60 km/h.^[4]

In 2015, the daily average of vehicles that traveled along the Kamikita Road section of the expressway was 3,884 between Rokunohe and Rokunohe-Misawa Interchange and 4,694 between Rokunohe-Misawa Interchange and Kamikita Interchange.^[5]

History

The Kamikita Expressway was designated in 1987 as part of a single expressway running from the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, Aomori to the prefecture's second largest city, Hachinohe.^[6] The first section of the expressway opened in 2013, two years ahead of schedule. This section connects the Daini-Michinoku Toll Road to Aomori Prefecture Route 211. On 27 November 2018, National Route 394 was rerouted as part of the expressway project to improve access at the junction between it and the expressway.^[7] On 8 February 2019, the interchanges that were set to open later that year were renamed from Kamikita 2 Interchange and Tenmabayashi 1 to Tōhoku Interchange and Shichinohe Interchange, respectively.^[3] The section between Route 211 and National Route 394 was opened on 16 March 2019 at 4:00 p.m. JST after festivities and a tape cutting ceremony.^[8]^[9] The expressway was extended an additional 8.3 kilometers (5.2 mi) between National Route 394 and National Route 4 on 27 November 2022.^[10]

Future

Currently, the expressway is ultimately planned to connect to the Shimokita Expressway and the Michinoku Toll Road.^[11]

Junction list

The entire expressway is in Aomori Prefecture.

Location	km	mi	Exit	Name	Destinations	Notes
Rokunohe	0	0.0	—	Rokunohe	Daini-Michinoku Toll Road south– Oirase, Hachinohe	Southern terminus; E4A continues south along the Daini-Michinoku Toll Road; northbound exit, southbound entrance
Rokunohe	4.1	2.5	—	Rokunohe-Misawa	Aomori Prefecture Route 22 – Rokunohe, Misawa, Shichinohe, Tōhoku
Tōhoku	7.7	4.8	—	Kamikita	Aomori Prefecture Route 211 – to Aomori Prefecture Route 22, Aomori, Central Tōhoku, Lake Ogawara
Tōhoku	12.8	8.0	—	Tōhoku	Aomori Prefecture Route 121 – to Aomori Prefecture Route 22, Aomori, Shichinohe, Central Tōhoku, Lake Ogawara
Shichinohe	15.5	9.6	—	Shichinohe	National Route 394 (Enokibayashi Bypass) – to National Route 4, Shichinohe-Towada Station
Shichinohe	23.8	14.8	—	Shichinohe-kita	National Route 4 – to Shimokita Expressway, Noheji, Towada, Shichinohe-Towada Station Aomori Prefecture Route 242 west – to Michinoku Toll Road, Aomori	At-grade intersection; northern terminus as of September 2023; E4A resumes beyond the interchange via Aomori Prefecture Route 242 as the Michinoku Expressway
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Incomplete access Unopened

References

^ "県都青森市と八戸市を結ぶ上北自動車道の早期開通に向けて" [Early opening of the Kamikita Expressway, which connects Aomori city, the prefecture's capital, with Hachinohe city] (in Japanese). December 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
^ "Japan's Expressway Numbering System". www.mlit.go.jp. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
^ ^a ^b "青森県内の高速ネットワークが拡大！" [The expressway network of Aomori Prefecture is expanding!] (PDF) (pdf) (in Japanese). 8 February 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
^ "地域連携強化、地域活性化に寄与する上北自動車道" [Kamikita Expressway, contributing to strengthening regional cooperation and revitalizing it]. The Jichi Times (in Japanese). July 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
^ "平成27年度全国道路・街路交通情勢調査一般交通量調査集計表" [FY2015 National Road / Street Traffic Situation and General Traffic Volume Survey Summary Table] (PDF). MLIT (in Japanese). 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
^ "第四次全国総合開発計画" [Fourth National Comprehensive Development Plan] (PDF). www.mlit.go.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 9 March 2018.
^ "榎林BP（七戸）27日、駒沢BP（三沢）30日開通" [Tenmabashi Bypass (Shichinohe) opened on 27th, Komazawa Bypass (Misawa) opened on the 30th] (in Japanese). 9 November 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
^ "上北天間林道路（上北IC～七戸IC）3月16日(土)16:00開通！" [Kamikita Tenmabayashi Road (Kamikita IC-Shichinohe IC) opening on Saturday, March 16 at 16:00!]. Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (in Japanese). 8 March 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
^ "青森河川国道ニュース第565号" [Aomori National Highway News 565] (PDF). Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (in Japanese). 22 March 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
^ "天間林道路（七戸IC〜七戸北IC）が令和4年11月27日（日）15時に開通" [Tenmabayashi Road (Shichinohe IC - Shichinohe-kita IC) opens at 15:00 on Sunday, 27 November 2022] (PDF) (in Japanese). 27 November 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
^ "天間林道路、２２年開通見通し八戸－青森間３１分短縮" [Tenmabayashi Road, expected to open in 2022, will shorten trips between Hachinohe and Aomori by 31 minutes]. Daily Tōhoku (in Japanese). 7 February 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2020.