Hidaka Expressway
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highways
National Route 235
Dō-Ō Expressway in Tomakomai, Hokkaido | |
|---|---|
 日高自動車道 | |
 | |
| Route information | |
| Maintained by East Nippon Expressway Company/Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism | |
| Length | 59.9 km[1] (37.2 mi) |
| Existed | 1998–present |
| Component highways | National Route 235 |
| Major junctions | |
| West end | Dō-Ō Expressway in Tomakomai, Hokkaido |
| East end | Hokkaido Route 208 in Hidaka, Hokkaido |
| Location | |
| Country | Japan |
| Highway system | |
The Hidaka Expressway (Japanese: 日高自動車道, Hepburn: Hidaka Jidōsha-dō) is a partially tolled expressway in Iburi Subprefecture and Hidaka Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. The expressway connects Hidaka to the Dō-Ō Expressway. It is owned and operated by partially by the East Nippon Expressway Company and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). It is signed as an auxiliary route of National Route 235 as well as E63 under their "2016 Proposal for Realization of Expressway Numbering.[2]
The name Hidaka is derived from the province of the same name established in 1869, which in turn was named after an unknown country "in the Eastern wilds" called Hitakami in the Nihonshoki, a history book written in 720. There is no direct connection between the Hitakami of the Nihonshoki and the modern Hidaka Subprefecture.[3]
Route description
Lane configuration
| Section | Total lanes = Westbound lanes + Eastbound Lanes | Speed limit | Toll |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomakomai-higashi IC – Numanohata-nishi IC | 4=2+2 | 100 km/h | Yes |
| Numanohata-nishi IC – Numanohata-higashi IC | 2=1+1 ※partially, 4=2+2 |
80 km/h | No |
| Numanohata-higashi IC – Atsuma IC | 4=2+2 | 100 km/h | |
| Atsuma IC – Hidaka Atsuga IC | 2=1+1 ※partially, 4=2+2 | 70 km/h |
History
The first section of the Hidaka Expressway to open was a 19.7-kilometer (12.2 mi)-long section between the western terminus at the Dō-Ō Expressway in Tomakomai and Atsuma in 1998.[4] In consideration of the effects of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, it was decided by MLIT that future sections of the expressway should follow a path further inland to avoid inundation by a tsunami. This decision has delayed further construction of the expressway.[5]
The expressway was temporarily closed after being damaged by the 2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi earthquake.[6]
