The is a 2-laned national expressway in Hokkaidō, Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company.
It forms the middle section of the .
Overview The expressway is connects the east of Hokkaidō with central regions including the greater Sapporo urban area.
At Honbetsu Junction near the eastern end the expressway splits into two routes: one route heading east towards the city of Kushiro and another route heading north towards the city of Kitami. All future extensions of these two routes will be constructed according to the New Direct Control System and are expected to operate toll-free upon completion.
The expressway is among the least used in Japan. At the time of its opening it was used by an average of only 650 vehicles a day, the lowest among all national expressways in Japan. As of 2006 the average daily ridership of the expressway has increased to 4,751 vehicles (for comparison the figure for the Tōhoku Expressway is 270,546 vehicles).
The speed limit is 70 km/h for the entire route.
List of interchanges and features
IC - interchange, JCT - junction, SA - service area, PA - parking area, TN - tunnel, TB - toll gate
Kushiro Route No.NameConnectionsDist. fromOriginNotesLocation(all in Hokkaidō)(25)Chitose-Eniwa JCT Dō-Ō Expressway0.0Chitose1Chitose-higashi IC National Route 33712.6PAKiusu PA14.52Oiwakechō IC National Route 23421.9AbiraPAYuni PA29.3Yuni3Yūbari IC National Route 27442.1Yūbari4Mukawa Hobetsu ICPref. Route 1165 (Mukawa Hobetsu Inter Route)56.5MukawaTNHobetsu TunnelLength - 4,332 m5Shimukappu ICPref. Route 1172 (Shimukappu Inter Route)76.6ShimukappuPAShimukappu PA80.06Tomamu ICPref. Route 1170 (Tomamu Inter Route)102.8TNDaiichi Karikachi TunnelPoint of highest elevation among all expressways in Hokkaidō (626 m)Length - 2,351 mMinamifurano-Shintoku ICPlannedShintoku7Tokachi Shimizu IC National Route 274123.7ShimizuSATokachiheigen SA138.6Memuro8Memuro ICPref. Route 54 (Higashiurimaku Memuro Route)140.99Obihiro JCT Obihiro-Hiroo Expressway145.310Otofuke Obihiro IC National Route 241 (Obihiro Kita Bypass)152.4OtofukePAOsarushi PA165.511Ikeda IC National Route 242174.0IkedaTBIkeda Toll Gate12Honbetsu JCT Kitami Route191.2No access: Ashoro IC ←→ Honbetsu ICHonbetsu13Honbetsu ICPref. Route 1154 (Honbetsu Inter Route)193.014Urahoro IC National Route 274201.0Urahoro<TN>Sensho TunnelLength - 4,460 m15Shiranuka IC National Route 392227.0Shiranuka16Shoro ICPref. Route 242 (Kami-Shoro Shoro Teishajō Route)235.017Akan IC National Route 240240.9Kushiro17-1Kushiro Airport ICPref. Route 952 (Yamahana Tsuruoka Route)250.218Kushiro-nishi IC National Route 38 (Kushiro Shindō)259.119Kushiro-chuō ICKushiro City Route (Yanagibashi-dōri Avenue)265.0Nemuro-bound exit, Obihiro-bound entrance onlyKushiro City Route (Kyōeibashi-dōri Avenue)266.1Obihiro-bound exit, Nemuro-bound entrance only20Kushiro-higashi IC National Route 391268.8Kushiro (town)21Kushiro-Beppo IC National Route 272Kushiro Nakashibetsu Road275.9Through to Trans-Hokkaidō Expressway (Planned)
Kitami Route
No.NameConnectionsDist. fromOriginNotesLocation (all in Hokkaidō)12Honbetsu JCT Kushiro Route191.2No access: Ashoro IC ←→ Honbetsu ICHonbetsu1Ashoro IC National Route 242204.4AshoroThrough to Tokachi-Okhotsk Expressway (Planned)
History October 30, 1995 - Tokachi Shimizu Interchange - Ikeda Interchange section opened. October 7, 1999 - Chitose-Eniwa Junction - Yūbari Interchange section opened. March 15, 2003 - Obihiro Junction is opened, connecting with the Obihiro-Hiroo Expressway. June 8, 2003 - Ikeda Interchange - Honbetsu Interchange section and Honbetsu Junction - Ashoro Interchange section opened. October 21, 2007 - Tomamu Interchange - Tokachi Shimizu Interchange section opened. October 24, 2009 - Shimukappu Interchange - Tomamu Interchange section opened. November 21, 2009 - Honbetsu Interchange - Urahoro Interchange section opened. October 29, 2011 - Yubari Interchange - Shimukappu Interchange section opened. March 29, 2015 - Urahoro Interchange - Shiranuka Interchange section opened. March 12, 2016 - Shiranuka Interchange - Akan Interchange and Kushiro-nishi Interchange - Kushiro-higashi Interchange section opened (as part of Kushiro Sotokan Road). March 9, 2019 - Kushiro-higashi Interchange - Kushiro-Beppo Interchange section opened (as part of Kushiro Sotokan Road). September 12, 2024 - Kushiro Sotokan Road renamed to Dōtō Expressway. December 22, 2024 - Akan Interchange - Kushiro-nishi Interchange section opened.
See also Dō-Ō Expressway, another road on the island
References
External links East Nippon Expressway Company