Kyushu Expressway Explained

Country:	JPN
Type:	Expressway
Route:	Kyushu
Map Custom:	yes
Length Km:	346.2
Length Ref:	^[1]
Established:	1971
Terminus A:	Moji Interchange in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Kita-Kyushu Expressway Kanmon Bridge
Cities:	Fukuoka, Dazaifu, Tosu, Kurume, Kumamoto, Yatsushiro, Kirishima
Terminus B:	Kagoshima Junction in Kagoshima, Kagoshima Minami-Kyushu Expressway Ibusuki Skyline

(Asian Highway Network) is one of the Expressways of Japan from Kitakyūshū (and the bridge to Honshū) to west of Kagoshima linking with the Higashikyushu Expressway and the Ibusuki Skyline. It runs through the prefectures of Fukuoka, the eastern half of the Saga, Kumamoto, Miyazaki (Ebino only) and the Kagoshima prefectures. The freeway runs entirely on the island of Kyūshū. The total length is 346.2 km. It does not cover Ōita or Nagasaki.

History

June 30, 1971, a section from Ueki to Kumamoto was opened to traffic
October 21, 1972, a section from Nankan to Ueki opened to traffic
November 16, 1973, Tosu Interchange and Junction to Nankan was opened to traffic
December 13, 1973, Kajiki Interchange to Satsuma-Yoshida was opened to traffic
March 13, 1975, Koga Interchange to Tosu Junction was opened to traffic
March 4, 1976, Ebuno Junction with the Miyazaki Expressway to Ebuno Interchange was opened.
November 26, 1976, The section was opened to traffic from Kumatoto to Mifune Interchanges
November 29, 1976, a section from Mizobe Kagoshimna Airport to Kajiki Interchanges was opened
July 21, 1977, a section from Wakamiya to Koga was open to traffic
November 15, 1977, a section from Satsuma-Yoshida to Kagoshima-Kita Interchanges was opened
December 15, 1978, a section from Mifune to Matsubase Interchanges was opened
March 8, 1979, a section from Wakamiya to Yahata Interchanges was opened
March 12, 1980, a section from Matsubase to Yatsushiro Interchanges was opened
March 22, 1980 a section from Kurino to Mizobe-Kagoshima Airport was opened
October 1, 1981, a section from Ebuno Junction to Kurino Interchange opened made that section ran from Ebuno to Kagoshima-Kita interchanges that time
March 27, 1984, a section from Moji to Kokura-Higashi was opened which made access to the bridge with Honshū
March 28, 1985, the Tosu Junction in the west was opened.
February 5, 1987, the Tosu Junction in the east was opened.
March 29, 1988, a section from Kagoshima-Kita to Kagoshima was opened with an interchange with the expressway.
March 31, 1988, a section from Kokura-Higashi to Yahata was opened to traffic
October 19, 1988, a section in the Kagoshima Interchange with the Minami Kyushu Expressway was opened
December 7, 1989, a section from Yatsushiro to Hitoyoshi was opened to traffic
March 25, 1992, a section in the Kajiki Interchange with the road was opened
March 31, 1993, the Shin-Moji Interchange was opened
July 27, 1995, a section from Hitoyoshi to Ebuno was opened to traffic which made the Kyushu Expressway from Moji to Kagoshima fully accessible with no gaps.
April 20, 1998, the Yatsushiro Junction was opened to traffic with another freeway
December 19, 2001, Kajiki Junction was opened to traffic
December 12, 2004, the tunnel from Hitoyoshi to Ebino Interchanges which made Kyushu Expressway with four lanes now being connected with no gaps
February 26, 2006, Kitakyushu Junction was opened to traffic with another freeway
March 29, 2009, the Miyama-Yanagawa Interchange was opened
February 19, 2011, the Kurate Interchange was opened
April 14, 2016, Many sections of the expressway were damaged during the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes.
April 29, 2016, The expressway reopened.^[2]

List of interchanges and features

IC - interchange, SIC - smart interchange, JCT - junction, SA - service area, PA - parking area, BS - bus stop, TN - tunnel, TB - toll gate, BR - bridge
Bus stops labeled "○" are currently in use; those marked "◆" are closed.

Number	Name	Connections	Distance from Moji(Km)	Bus Stop	Notes	Location
Through to Kanmon Bridge
1	Moji IC	Kitakyushu Expressway 4 Pref. Route 72 (Kurokawa Shiranoe Higashihonmachi Route)	0.0			Moji-ku, Kitakyūshū	Fukuoka
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Hata BS	style="text-align:center;"	-	4.1			◆
1-1	Shin-Moji Interchange	Pref. Route 71 (Shin-Moji Port Dairi Route)	4.4		Only accessible for Fukuoka
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Kishi PA	style="text-align:center;"	-	6.2
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Kuzuhara BS	style="text-align:center;"	-	11.2	◆			Kokuraminami-ku, Kitakyūshū
2	Kokura-Higashi IC	Kitakyushu Expressway 1 (Sone Bypass)	13.4
2-1	Kitakyushu JCT	Higashikyushu Expressway	16.5
3	Kokura-Minami IC		20.2	○
4	Yahata IC	Kitakyushu Expressway 4 (Nogata Bypass)	31.4	○	Kitakyushu Expressway←→Hiroshima: no access	Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyūshū
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Nogata PA	style="text-align:center;"	-	34.9	○		Only accessible for Hiroshima	Nogata
4-1	Kurate IC	Pref. Route 472 (Nogata Kurate Route)	36.1			Kurate
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Kurate PA	style="text-align:center;"	-	36.3	Kurate			Only accessible for Fukuoka
4-2	Miyata SIC	Pref. Route 9 (Muroki Shimoariki Wakamiya Route) via Miyawaka city road	42.1		Only accessible for Fukuoka	Miyawaka
5	Wakamiya IC	Pref. Route 9 (Muroki Shimoariki Wakamiya Route)	45.2	○		Miyawaka
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Koga SA	style="text-align:center;"	-	54.5				Koga
6	Koga IC	(Kashii Bypass) Pref. Route 35 (Chikushino Koga Route)	57.7
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Aoyagi BS	style="text-align:center;"	-	58.7	○
rowspan="2" style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Tachibanayama BS	rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"	-	62.9	○			Shingu
Hisayama		Tachibanayama BS			62.9	○
7	Fukuoka IC	Fukuoka Expressway 4	68.3	◆		Higashi-ku, Fukuoka
7-1	Sue PA/SIC	Pref. Route 91 (Shime Sue Route)	73.4	◆		Sue
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Umi BS	style="text-align:center;"	-	75.4	○			Umi
8	Dazaifu IC	Fukuoka Expressway 2 (Fukuoka-Minami Bypass)	80.1	◆		Dazaifu
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Chikushino BS	style="text-align:center;"	-	84.9	○			Chikushino
8-1	Chikushino IC	Pref. Route 7 (Chikushino Interchange Route)	86.9						Chikushino
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Kiyama PA	style="text-align:center;"	-	90.8	○		Kiyama	Saga
9	Tosu JCT/IC	Nagasaki Expressway Ōita Expressway	96.1			Tosu			Saga
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Ajisaka SIC				Planned	Ogōri	Fukuoka
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Miyanojin BS	style="text-align:center;"	-	102.5	○			Kurume
10	Kurume IC	(Tosu Kurume Road)	105.4	○					Kurume
10-1	Hirokawa IC	Pref. Route 84 (Hirokawa Jōyō Route)	113.2	○	Bus stop: northbound only	Hirokawa
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Hirokawa SA	style="text-align:center;"	-	113.6	Hirokawa	○		Bus stop: southbound only Hirokawa IC←→SA: no access
11	Yame IC	(Yame Chikugo Bypass)	118.4	○		Yame
11	Yame IC	(Yame Chikugo Bypass)	118.4	○		Chikugo
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Setaka BS	style="text-align:center;"	-	122.4	○			Miyama
11-1	Miyama-Yanagawa IC	Pref. Route 775 (Motoyoshi Ogawa Route)	125.6
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Yamakawa PA	style="text-align:center;"	-	128.0	○
12	Nankan IC	Pref. Route 5 (Omuta Nankan Route) Pref. Route 10 (Nankan Omuta-Kita Route)	135.0			Nankan	Kumamoto
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Kobaru BS	style="text-align:center;"	-	138.8			○
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Tamana PA	style="text-align:center;"	-	142.7
13	Kikusui IC	Pref. Route 16 (Tamana Yamaga Route)	146.6	○		Nagomi
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Kaou BS	style="text-align:center;"	-	153.6	○			Yamaga
14	Ueki IC		157.3	○		Kita-ku, Kumamoto
14-1	Kita-Kumamoto SIC	Pref. Route 30 (Ozu Ueki Route) via Kumamoto city road	162.0
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Kita-Kumamoto SA	style="text-align:center;"	-	162.2
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Nishi-Kōshi BS	style="text-align:center;"	-	165.7	○			Kōshi
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Musashigaoka BS	style="text-align:center;"	-	169.0	○			Kita-ku, Kumamoto
15	Kumamoto IC	(Kumamoto-Higashi Bypass)	171.2			Higashi-ku, Kumamoto
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Takuma PA	style="text-align:center;"	-	174.3	Higashi-ku, Kumamoto
15-1	Mashiki-Kumamoto Airport IC	Pref. Route 36 (Kumamoto Mashiki Ozu Route)	176.4			Mashiki
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Mashiki BS	style="text-align:center;"	-	177.5	Mashiki		○
15-2	Kashima JCT	Kyushu Chūō Expressway	180.7			Mifune
16	Mifune IC		183.1	◆		Mifune
rowspan="2" style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Midorikawa PA	rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"	-	186.7				Minami-ku, Kumamoto
Kōsa		Midorikawa PA			186.7
16-1	Jōnan BS/ SIC	Pref. Route 38 (Uto Kōsa Route)	189.0	○		Minami-ku, Kumamoto
17	Matsubase IC		195.1	◆		Uki
17-1	Hikawa Takatsuka BS/Uki Hikawa SIC	via Hikawa town road	204.0	◆		Hikawa
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Miyahara SA	style="text-align:center;"	-	208.8	Hikawa		○
18	Yatsushiro IC		213.5	○		Yatsushiro
18-1	Yatsushiro JCT	Minamikyushu Expressway	214.6		Only accessible for Fukuoka
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Sakamoto PA	style="text-align:center;"	-	222.1			◆
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Ayugaeri BS	style="text-align:center;"	-	230.2			◆
rowspan="2" style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Higo TN	rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"	-					Length 6,340m Dangerous goods forbidden
Yamae		Higo TN							Length 6,340m Dangerous goods forbidden
	style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Koduru BS	style="text-align:center;"	-	242.4		◆
	style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Yamae SA	style="text-align:center;"	-	248.0		◆
	19	Hitoyoshi IC	Pref. Route 54 (Hitoyoshi Interchange Route)	252.0	○
Hitoyoshi	19	Hitoyoshi IC	Pref. Route 54 (Hitoyoshi Interchange Route)	252.0	○
	style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Hitoyoshi TB	style="text-align:center;"	-	252.1			Abandoned on July 27, 1995
	19-1	Hitoyoshi-Kuma SIC		256.2	style="text-align:center;"	-		incl. Hitoyoshi-Minami Bus Stop BS location TBD
	style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Hitoyoshi Temporary Interchange		256.2			Abandoned on July 27, 1995
	style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Hitoyoshi-Minami BS	style="text-align:center;"	-	256.4		◆	closed by replacement
	rowspan="2" style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Kakutō TN	rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"	-				Length 6,264m Dangerous goods forbidden
Ebino	Miyazaki		Kakutō TN						Length 6,264m Dangerous goods forbidden
		style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Ebino PA	style="text-align:center;"	-	271.9
		20	Ebino IC		274.3	○
		21	Ebino JCT	Miyazaki Expressway	276.4
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Yoshimatsu PA	style="text-align:center;"	-	281.6	○		Yūsui	Kagoshima
22	Kurino IC	Pref. Route 55 (Kurino Kajiki Route)	290.0					Yūsui
23	Yokogawa IC	Pref. Route 55 (Kurino Kajiki Route)	296.0			Kirishima
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Mizobe PA	style="text-align:center;"	-	302.7
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Kagoshima Airport-Minami BS	style="text-align:center;"	-	308.6		○
24	Mizobe-Kagoshima Airport IC		309.8
25-1 25	Kajiki JCT Kajiki IC	Higashikyushu Expressway (Kajiki Bypass) Pref. Route 55 (Kurino Kajiki Route)	317.5			Aira
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Chōsa BS	style="text-align:center;"	-	322.2		○
25-2	Sakurajima SA/SIC		323.6		SIC:Only accessible for Kagoshima
26	Aira IC	Pref. Route 57 (Fumoto Shigetomi Teishajō Route)	326.2
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Honjō BS	style="text-align:center;"	-	330.6	◆		Kagoshima
27	Satsuma-Yoshida IC	Pref. Route 16 (Kagoshima Yoshida Route)	334.8
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Kagoshima TB	style="text-align:center;"	-	336.7		Toll Barrier
28	Kagoshima-Kita IC	Pref. Route 18 (Kagoshima-Kita Interchange Route)	341.9
style="background-color:#BFB;"	-	Ishiki BS	style="text-align:center;"	-	342.0	○
29	Kagoshima IC	Minamikyushu Expressway (Kagoshima Bypass)	346.2
Through to Ibusuki Skyline

The section between Yatsushiro Junction and Ebino Interchange consists of tunnels that run in the mountainous areas; vehicles carrying dangerous goods are forbidden from travelling through these tunnels and must use alternate routes.

Lanes

6-lane, Dazaifu to Kurume Interchanges
4-lane, Moji to Dazaifu Interchange and from Kurume to Kagoshima Interchanges

External links

(in Japanese)

Notes and References

Web site: Road Timetable . Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Kyushu Regional Development Bureau . 2008-08-31 .
Web site: Major highway reopens in quake-hit Kumamoto. . 29 April 2016. mainichi.jp. Mainichi Japan. 30 April 2016. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160603091322/http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20160429/p2g/00m/0dm/080000c. 3 June 2016.