The Hakodate-Esashi Expressway (函館江差自動車道, Hakodate-Esashi Jidōshadō) is an incomplete two-lane national expressway in Oshima Subprefecture of Hokkaido, Japan. It is owned and operated by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and is signed E5A as an extension of the Hokkaido Expressway under the "2016 Proposal for Realization of Expressway Numbering."[1]
 | |
|---|---|
 函館江差自動車道 | |
| Route information | |
| Length | 34.0 km (21.1 mi) |
| Existed | 2003–present |
| Major junctions | |
| North end |   Hakodate Shindōat Hakodate Junction |
| South end |  National Route 228at Kikonai Interchange |
| Location | |
| Country | Japan |
| Major cities | Hakodate Hokuto Kikonai |
| Highway system | |
Route description
editThis section needs to be updated. The reason given is: Hokutomoheji-Kikonai section was opened on March 26, 2022. (August 2024) |
Officially, the current (as of January 2019) section of expressway open is known as the Hakodate-Kikonai Road. It is 34.0 kilometres (21.1 mi) long. The speed limit is set at 100 km/h along its entirety. With the exception of a short section at Hakodate Junction, the expressway only has one lane in each direction.[2]
The roads northern terminus is at an interchange with Hakodate Shindō, a southern extension of the Hokkaido Expressway. From here the road travels west out of Hakodate and in to Hokuto. Upon entering Hokuto it has a junction with Japan National Route 227. It then crosses the Kunebetsu and Ōno rivers before another junction, this time with Hokkaido Route 96. From here, the route curves to the southwest, roughly paralleling the Hokkaido Shinkansen rail line, while the older Esashi Line winds back and forth alongside the expressway. The expressway abruptly meets in temporary southern terminus at Hokkaido Route 1167 in the southern part of Hokuto near Moheji Station.
History
editThe expressway was first opened between Hakodate Junction and Hokuto-chūō Interchange in 2003. At the time of construction, the open interchanges in Hokuto had different names. Those interchanges were renamed Hokuto-Oiwake and Hokuto-chūō in October 2009. Shortly after, in November of the same year, the expressway was extended to Hokuto-Tomigawa. After that, in March 2012 the expressway was extended to Hokuto-Moheji.[3] Most recently, in March 26, 2022 the expressway was extended to Kikonai.[4]
Future
editConstruction is underway to extend the expressway 16.0 kilometres (9.9 mi) to Kikonai; however, progress was delayed due to the finding of Jōmon period relics in the construction area. The completion date for this extension is March 26, 2022.[5]
Junction list
editThe entire expressway is in Hokkaido.
| Location | km | mi | Exit | Name | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Through to  National Route 278 (Hakodate Shinsotokan Road)
| |||||||
| Hakodate | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | Hakodate | Hakodate Shindō– Nanae, Sapporo,  Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station | Northern terminus. | |
| Hokuto | 3.4 | 2.1 | 2 | Hokuto-Oiwake |  National Route 227 | ||
| 8.0 | 5.0 | 3 | Hokuto-chūō | Hokkaido Route 96 | |||
| 12.6 | 7.8 | 4 | Hokuto-Tomigawa | National Route 228 | Northbound entrance and southbound exit only | ||
| 18.0 | 11.2 | 5 | Hokuto-Moheji | Hokkaido Route 1167 | |||
| Kikonai | 34.0 | 21.1 | 6 | Kikonai | National Route 228 | Current southern terminus as of March 2022 | |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||||
References
edit- ^ "Japan's Expressway Numbering System". www.mlit.go.jp.
- ^ "函館江差自動車道" (PDF) (in Japanese). 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- ^ "お知らせ" [Notice] (PDF) (in Japanese). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- ^ "E59函館・江差自動車道 茂辺地木古内道路（北斗茂辺地IC〜木古内IC）が令和4年3月26日（土）15時に開通します！" (PDF). 国土交通省北海道開発局 函館開発建設部. 2022-02-18. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
- ^ "函館江差自動車道 茂辺地木古内道路の開通予定の見直し" [Revised date for the opening of the Kikonai Extension of the Hakodate-Esashi Expressway] (PDF). Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (in Japanese). 26 July 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2019.