The Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Project (本州四国連絡橋, Honshū-Shikoku Renraku-kyō) is a system of bridges connecting the islands of Honshu and Shikoku across the Inland Sea of Japan, which were previously only connected by ferry. It consists of three major connections. All bridges are now controlled by the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Expressway Company and the Japan Expressway Holding and Debt Repayment Agency (日本高速道路保有・債務返済機構). The system consists of three expressways and their respective bridge systems.
The eastern expressway was completed in 1998.[1] Crossing the Akashi Strait, this connection links Hyōgo Prefecture on Honshu with Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku, using Awaji Island for most of its length. The route connects to the Sanyō Expressway at its northern terminus, allowing traffic to connect to Himeji, Kobe, and other major cities on Honshū.
Although the connection was initially designed to accommodate railway service as well as road traffic, economic considerations turned it into a road connection only.
The Seto-Chūō bridges are also used by JR trains (Seto-Ōhashi Line), and are designed to accommodate high-speed Shinkansen service in the future, although there are no current plans to extend the Shinkansen to Shikoku.