Mei-Nikan Expressway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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|---|---|
 名古屋第二環状自動車道 (Nagoya Daini-Kanjō Jidōsha-dō) | |
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| Route information | |
| Maintained by Central Nippon Expressway Company | |
| Length | 43.7 km (27.2 mi) |
| Existed | 1988[1]–present |
| Component highways |  National Route 302 |
| Major junctions | |
| From | Nagoya-minami Junction in Nagoya Isewangan Expressway Nagoya Expressway Ōdaka Route |
| To | Nagoya-nishi Junction in Nagoya Higashi-Meihan Expressway Nagoya Expressway Mamba Route |
| Location | |
| Country | Japan |
| Major cities | Kasugai, Kiyosu, Ama, Oharu |
| Highway system | |
The Mei-Nikan Expressway (名二環, Mei-Nikan), or Nagoya Daini Kanjō Expressway (名古屋第二環状自動車道, Nagoya Daini-Kanjō Jidōsha-dō), is a partially completed tolled expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by the Central Nippon Expressway Company. Upon completion, the expressway will form a second ring road around Nagoya in conjunction with the Isewangan Expressway. It is signed as C2 under the "2016 Proposal for Realization of Expressway Numbering."[2]
The Mei-Nikan is a ring-shaped high-speed national expressway built around 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the city center of Nagoya. It is a 43.7 kilometres (27.2 mi) long second ring road for the city, the outer ring road is the incompleted 152.4 kilometres (94.7 mi) long Tōkai-Kanjō Expressway, and the inner ring route is the 10.3 kilometres (6.4 mi) long Nagoya Expressway Ring Route.[3] Upon completion, the Mei-Nikan Expressway will have a total length of 55.9 kilometres (34.7 mi). The Mei-Nikan runs concurrent to Japan National Route 302, the only exception to this concurrency is the branch route that connects the ring road to the Tōmei Expressway.[4]
The section between Hikiyama Interchange and Ōmori Interchange consists of tunnels that run underneath waterways; vehicles carrying dangerous goods are forbidden from travelling through these tunnels and must use alternate routes.[5]
History
The first section of what would become the Mei-Nikan Expressway was opened on 23 March 1988 between Kiyosu-higashi Interchange and Nagoya-nishi Interchange as part of the Higashi-Meihan Expressway.[1] The expressway was opened in phases since then as part of the Higashi-Meihan until 2011, when it was redesignated as the Mei-Nikan Expressway.[6]
Future
Construction is underway to extend the expressway 12.2 kilometres (7.6 mi) south to the Isewangan Expressway southwest of Nagoya by 2020. Upon completion, this would complete the loop made around the city by the two expressways.[4]
