Dōtō Expressway Explained

Country:JPN
Type:Expressway
Route:Dōtō
Alternate Name:Japanese: 道東自動車道
Map Custom:yes
Length Km:258.0
Established:1995
Terminus A:Chitose-Eniwa Junction in Chitose, Hokkaido
Dō-Ō Expressway
Cities:Yūbari, Obihiro
Terminus B:Kushiro, Hokkaido
Kitami, Hokkaido

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[1] 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.[2] 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).[3]

The speed limit is 70 km/h for the entire route.

List of interchanges and features

Kushiro Route

No.NameConnectionsDist. from
Origin
NotesLocation
(all in Hokkaidō)
(25)Chitose-Eniwa JCT Dō-Ō Expressway0.0Chitose
1Chitose-higashi IC National Route 33712.6
PAKiusu PA14.5
2Oiwakechō IC National Route 23421.9Abira
PAYuni PA29.3Yuni
3Yūbari IC National Route 27442.1Yūbari
4Mukawa Hobetsu ICPref. Route 1165 (Mukawa Hobetsu Inter Route)56.5Mukawa
TNHobetsu TunnelLength - 4,332 m
5Shimukappu ICPref. Route 1172 (Shimukappu Inter Route)76.6Shimukappu
PAShimukappu PA80.0
6Tomamu ICPref. Route 1170 (Tomamu Inter Route)102.8
TNDaiichi Karikachi TunnelPoint of highest elevation among all expressways in Hokkaidō (626 m)
Length - 2,351 m
Minamifurano
style="background-color:#BFB;"-Shintoku ICPlannedShintoku
7Tokachi Shimizu IC National Route 274123.7Shimizu
SATokachiheigen SA138.6Memuro
8Memuro ICPref. Route 54 (Higashiurimaku Memuro Route)140.9
9Obihiro JCT Obihiro-Hiroo Expressway145.3
10Otofuke Obihiro IC National Route 241 (Obihiro Kita Bypass)152.4Otofuke
PAOsarushi PA165.5
11Ikeda IC National Route 242174.0Ikeda
TBIkeda Toll Gate
12Honbetsu JCT Kitami Route191.2No access: Ashoro IC ←→ Honbetsu ICHonbetsu
13Honbetsu ICPref. Route 1154 (Honbetsu Inter Route)193.0
14Urahoro IC National Route 274201.0Urahoro
Sensho TunnelLength - 4,460 m
15Shiranuka IC National Route 392227.0Shiranuka
16Shoro ICPref. Route 242 (Kami-Shoro Shoro Teishajō Route)235.0
17Akan IC National Route 240240.9Kushiro
Planned
18Kushiro-nishi IC National Route 38 (Kushiro Shindō)259.1
Through to Kushiro Sotokan Road

Kitami Route

No.NameConnectionsDist. from
Origin
NotesLocation (all in Hokkaidō)
12Honbetsu JCT Kushiro Route191.2No access: Ashoro IC ←→ Honbetsu ICHonbetsu
1Ashoro IC National Route 242204.4Ashoro
Through to Tokachi-Okhotsk Expressway (Planned)

History

See also

References

  1. Web site: E-NEXCO Opening Schedule . 2008-04-15 .
  2. Web site: Hokkaido Keizai Sangyo Shimbun, October 22, 2007 . 2008-04-15 .
  3. Web site: E-NEXCO Expressway Data . 2008-04-13 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071213220411/http://www.e-nexco.co.jp/more_expressway/data/ . 2007-12-13 .

External links