The is a national expressway in the Tōhoku region of Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company.
Naming
The expressway is officially referred to as the Tōhoku Ōdan Expressway Sakata Route. From Tsuruoka Junction to Sakata-Minato Interchange the expressway is concurrent with the Nihonkai Engan Tōhoku Expressway, which is planned to extend further north to Akita Prefecture and Aomori Prefecture.
Overview
The expressway begins in southern Miyagi Prefecture at a junction with the Tōhoku Expressway and heads west, crossing over into Yamagata Prefecture. The route passes to the north of the Yamagata city area and subsequently meets the Tōhoku-Chūō Expressway. From here the expressway crosses mountainous areas of western Yamagata Prefecture before reaching the city of Tsuruoka near the Japan Sea coastline. The remainder of the expressway follows a northerly course paralleling the coastline to the terminus in the city of Sakata.
The route is incomplete between Gassan Interchange and Yudonosan Interchange which cuts the route into two physically separate sections. Travellers must use National Route 112 to travel between the two interchanges. As of March 2008 there are no plans to make the Yamagata Expressway a single contiguous expressway.
The expressway is 4 lanes from Murata Junction to Yamagata Junction and 2 lanes for all other sections. The speed limit is 80 km/h for the 4-laned section and 70 km/h for the 2-laned sections.
List of interchanges and features
IC – interchange, SIC – smart interchange, JCT – junction, SA – service area, PA – parking area, BS – bus stop, TN – tunnel, BR – bridge, TB – toll gate
No.NameConnectionsDist. fromOriginDist. fromTerminusBus StopNotesLocation(26)Murata JCT Tōhoku Expressway0.083.5MurataMiyagi1Miyagikawasaki IC National Route 286Pref. Route 14 (Watari Ōgarawa Kawasaki Route)10.473.1KawasakiPAFuruseki PA18.265.32Sasaya IC National Route 28622.361.2TNSasaya Tunnel↓↑Murata-bound - 3,411 mSakata-bound - 3,286mYamagataYamagata3Sekizawa IC National Route 28628.155.4Sakata-bound exit, Murata-bound entrance only4Yamagatazaō IC/PA National Route 28635.647.9TNSakazukiyama Tunnel↓↑Murata-bound - 1,234 mSakata-bound - 1,244 m5Yamagata-kita IC National Route 1341.941.6Emergency Exit↓↑Access for Yamagata Chūō HospitalAuthorized vehicles only6Yamagata JCT Tōhoku-Chūō Expressway46.636.9BRMogamigawa Bridge↓↑Mogami River crossingNakayama7Sagae IC National Route 11253.030.5Sagae7-1/SASagae SA/SIC National Route 45855.927.6○8Nishikawa IC National Route 11267.016.5○NishikawaTBNishikawa Toll Gate↓↑TNKazeakesan Tunnel↓↑Length - 1,923 mPAGassanko PA81.32.29Gassan IC National Route 11283.50.0Through to National Route 112 (Gassan Road)10Yudonosan IC National Route 1120.026.3TsuruokaYamagataTNTamugimata Tunnel↓↑Length - 1,921 mTNMiguriya Tunnel↓↑Length - 1,463 mBSShōnai-Asahi Bus Stop9.117.2○11Shōnai-Asahi ICPref. Route 44 (Amarume Atsumi Route)9.916.4PAKushibiki PA13.013.312/TBTsuruoka IC/TB National Route 723.82.517Tsuruoka JCT Nihonkai-Tōhoku Expressway26.30Yamagata Expwy ←→ Atsumi: No accessThrough to Nihonkai-Tōhoku Expressway
References
External links
East Nippon Expressway Company