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Jōban Expressway
Jōban Expressway
常磐自動車道
Route information
Length	300.4 km (186.7 mi)
Existed	1981–present
Major junctions
South end	Misato Junction; Shuto Expressway Misato Route; Tokyo Gaikan Expressway; in Misato, Saitama
North end	Watari Interchange; Sendai-Tōbu Road; Miyagi Prefecture Route 269; in Watari, Miyagi
Location
Country	Japan
Major cities	Kashiwa, Tsukuba, Tsuchiura, Mito, Hitachi, Iwaki, Natori, Sendai
Highway system
	National highways of Japan; Expressways of Japan;

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. It is signed E6 under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's "2016 Proposal for Realization of Expressway Numbering."^[3]

Route description

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. Continuing north along the coast, the expressway enters the greater Sendai area. The expressway supplements 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 expressway gets within about six kilometers from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. On a 14.3 km (8.9 mi) of the expressway opened on 1 March 2015, signs update drivers about what the radiation level is in the impacted area.^[4]

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.^[5] 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.

The expressway has a speed limit of 70 km/h between Iwaki-chūō Interchange and its northern terminus at Watari, a limit of 80 km/h between its southern terminus and Kashiwa Interchange and between Hitachiminami-Ōta and Iwaki-chūō interchanges, and a speed limit of 100 km/h on the remainder of the expressway.

History

The first section of the expressway was opened in 1981. The section from Jōban-Tomioka Interchange to Watari Interchange is under construction,^[6] and extensions and upgrades to the existing Sendai road network are also planned.^[7]

Incidents and closures

During the 13 February 2021 Fukushima earthquake, landslides buried parts of the expressway, and embankments along it collapsed; however, no vehicles were trapped inside the debris. A 10-meter-long (33 ft) section of the expressway at another location was uplifted.^[8] The damages facilitated the closure of the expressway between Shinchi and Sōma interchanges in Fukushima Prefecture. In response, the East Nippon Expressway Company deployed heavy equipment to remove boulders and clear up debris along the expressway.^[9] By 17 February, the blockages along the expressway were cleared allowing traffic to resume along the route. Fences were also erected along the stricken sections of the expressway to prevent further rockslides.^[10]

List of junctions and features

PA – parking area, SA – service area, TB – toll gate

Prefecture	Location	km	mi	Exit	Name	Destinations	Notes
Saitama	Misato	0.0	0.0	1	Misato	Tokyo Gaikan Expressway – Ōizumi, Matsudo National Route 298 – Kan-etsu Expressway, Tōhoku Expressway, Sōka, Central Misato Misato Route – to Central Circular Route, Ginza	Southern terminus of E6 and the Jōban Expressway; expressway continues as the Misato Route of the Shuto Expressway network; Tokyo Gaikan Expressway exit 80
		2.2– 2.4	1.4– 1.5	Misato Tunnel
		4.2	2.6	TB	Misato
		4.2	2.6	1-1	Misato-ryōkinjo	Saitama Prefecture Route 52 (Koshigaya Nagareyama Route)	Smart interchange; northbound entrance, southbound exit
Chiba–Saitama prefecture border		4.9 6.3	3.0 3.9	Edogawa Bridge over the Edo River
Chiba	Nagareyama	6.1	3.8	1–2	Nagareyama	Chiba Prefectuere Route 5 (Matsudo Noda Route)
Chiba	Kashiwa	10.8	6.7	2	Kashiwa	National Route 16
Chiba–Ibaraki prefecture border		13.0 13.8	8.1 8.6	Tonegawa Bridge over the Tone River
Ibaraki	Moriya	15.5	9.6	SA	Moriya
	Tsukubamirai	19.1	11.9	3	Yawara	National Route 294
	Tsukubamirai	20.4– 20.6	12.7– 12.8	Kokaigawa Bridge over the Kokai River
	Tsukuba	30.3	18.8	4	Yatabe	Ibaraki Prefecture Route 19 (Toride Tsukuba Route)
		34.6	21.5	4-1	Tsukuba	Ken-Ō Expressway	Ken-Ō Expressway exit 80
		36.1	22.4	PA	Yatabe-higashi
	Tsuchiura	38.7	24.0	5	Sakura-Tsuchiura	National Route 354
	Tsuchiura	46.6	29.0	6	Tsuchiura-kita	National Route 125
	Kasumigaura	50.4	31.3	PA	Chiyoda
	Kasumigaura	54.7	34.0	7	Chiyoda-Ishioka	National Route 6
	Kasumigaura–Ishioka border	56.2 56.8	34.9 35.3	Koisegawa Bridge over the Koise River
	Ishioka	60.9	37.8	7-1	Ishioka-Omitama	National Route 355	Smart interchange
	Omitama	63.2	39.3	PA	Minori
	Kasama	69.1	42.9	8	Iwama	Ibaraki Prefecture Route 43 (Ibaraki Iwama Route)
		71.2– 71.4	44.2– 44.4	Hinumagawa Bridge over the Hinuma River
		72.8	45.2	SA / 8-1	Tomobe	Ibaraki Prefecture routes 16 (Ōarai Tomobe Route) / 52 (Ishioka Shirosato Route)	Smart interchange
		74.0	46.0	8-2	Tomobe	Kita-Kantō Expressway
	Mito	82.0	51.0	9	Mito	National Route 50
		85.6	53.2	PA	Tano
		86.6– 87.0	53.8– 54.1	Tano Overpass
		87.7	54.5	9-1	Mito-kita	National Route 123, Ibaraki Prefecture routes 51 (Mito Motegi Route) / 63 (Mito Katsuta Nakaminato Route)	Smart interchange; northbound exit, southbound entrance
		88.2– 88.7	54.8– 55.1	Nakagawa Bridge over the Naka River
	Naka	93.8	58.3	10	Naka	Ibaraki Prefecture Route 65 (Naka Inter Route)
	Tōkai	101.7	63.2	PA / 10-1	Tōkai	Ibaraki Prefecture Route 62 (Hitachinaka Port Yamagata Route)	Smart interchange
	Naka–Hitachi border	102.8– 103.5	63.9– 64.3	Kujigawa Bridge over the Kuji River
	Hitachi	105.3	65.4	11	Hitachiminami-Ōta	National Route 6 / National Route 293
	Hitachiōta	108.4– 110.8	67.4– 68.8	Hitachi Tunnel
	Hitachi	110.8– 112.6	68.8– 70.0	Ōkubo tunnels
		112.6– 113.9	70.0– 70.8	Suwa tunnels
		114.4– 115.2	71.1– 71.6	Narusawa Tunnel
		115.2– 117.0	71.6– 72.7	Sukegawa Tunnel
		117.5	73.0	PA / 11-1	Hitachi-chūō	Hitachi Toll Road north
		118.1– 118.2	73.4– 73.4	Sukegawa Tunnel
		118.2– 118.8	73.4– 73.8	Daiōin Tunnel
		119.1– 121.0	74.0– 75.2	Kurakake Tunnel
		122.7– 122.9	76.2– 76.4	Ogitsu Tunnel
		124.3	77.2	12	Hitachi-kita	National Route 6 Ibaraki Prefecture Route 10 (Hitachi Iwaki Route)
		126.2– 126.5	78.4– 78.6	Jūō Tunnel
	Takahagi	135.2	84.0	13	Takahagi	Ibaraki Prefecture Route 67 (Takahagi Inter Route)
	Kitaibaraki	136.6	84.9	SA	Nakagō
		142.4	88.5	14	Kitaibaraki	Ibaraki Prefecture Route 69 (Kitaibaraki Inter Route)
		146.7– 148.1	91.2– 92.0	Sekinami Tunnel
		148.3– 148.5	92.1– 92.3	Sekimoto Tunnel
		150.3	93.4	PA	Sekimoto
Fukushima	Iwaki	154.5	96.0	15	Iwaki-Nakoso	National Route 289
		161.0	100.0	15-1	Iwaki-Onahama	Fukushima Prefecture Route 20 (Iwaki Kamimisaka Ono Route)	Scheduled to be in service on 2025.^[11]}
		167.1	103.8	16	Iwaki-Yumoto	Fukushima Prefecture Route 14 (Iwaki Ishikawa Route)
		169.4	105.3	PA	Yunotake
		171.2	106.4	16-1	Iwaki	Ban-etsu Expressway west
		175.5	109.1	17	Iwaki-chūō	National Route 49
		179.4– 179.8	111.5– 111.7	Natsuigawa Bridge
		185.7	115.4	PA	Yotsukura
		188.3	117.0	18	Iwaki-Yotsukura	Fukushima Prefecture Route 35 (Iwaki Namie Route)
		194.3– 194.8	120.7– 121.0	Ōhisa Tunnel
	Hirono	202.1	125.6	19	Hirono	Fukushima Prefecture Route 393 (Kamikitaba Shimokitaba Route)
	Naraha	197.5– 198.9	122.7– 123.6	Kidogawa Bridge
	Naraha	207.4	128.9	PA / 19-1	Naraha	Fukushima Prefecture Route 35 (Iwaki Namie Route)	Smart interchange
	Tomioka	218.5	135.8	20	Jōban-Tomioka	Fukushima Prefecture Route 36 (Ono Tomioka Route)
	Ōkuma	222.5	138.3	20-1	Ōkuma	Fukushima Prefecture Route 251 (Oragahama Nogami Route)
	Futaba	227.9	141.6	20-2	Jōban-Futaba	Fukushima Prefecture Route 256 (Ide Nagatsuka Route)
	Namie	232.8	144.7	21	Namie	National Route 114 / National Route 459
	Minamisōma	251.2	156.1	22	Minami-Sōma	Fukushima Prefecture Route 12 (Haramachi Kawamata Route)
	Minamisōma	257.7	160.1	SA / 22-1	Minami-Sōma Kashima	Fukushima Prefecture Route 34 (Sōma Namie Route)	Smart interchange; SIC only open between 06:00–22:00
	Sōma	265.6	165.0	23	Sōma	Tōhoku-Chūō Expressway north – Fukushima National Route 115 – Central Sōma, Fukushima
	Shinchi	274.1	170.3	24	Shinchi	National Route 113
Miyagi	Yamamoto	280.6	174.4	24-1	Yamamoto-minami	Miyagi Prefecture Route 44 (Kakuda Yamamoto Route)	Smart interchange
	Yamamoto	288.9	179.5	25	Yamamoto	National Route 6
	Watari	295.0	183.3	PA / 25-1	Torinoumi	Miyagi Prefecture Route 38 (Sōma Watari Route) via Watari SIC Line	Smart interchange
	Watari	300.4	186.7	1	Watari	Miyagi Prefecture Route 269 (Watari Inter Route) Sendai-Tōbu Road north	Northern terminus of the Jōban Expressway; E6 continues north as the Sendai-Tōbu Road
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Incomplete access Route transition Unopened