| Country: | JPN |
| Type: | Expressway |
| Route: | Nihonkai-Tōhoku |
| Map Custom: | yes |
| Length Km: | 53.6 |
| Length Notes: | Tolled sections |
| Length Ref: | [1] |
| Maint: | East Nippon Expressway Company |
| Established: | 2001 |
| Terminus A: | Niigata-Chūō Junction in Niigata, Niigata Hokuriku Expressway Ban-etsu Expressway |
| Cities: | Shibata, Tainai, Tsuruoka, Sakata, Nikaho, Yurihonjō |
| Terminus B: | Kawabe Junction in Akita, Akita Akita Expressway |
The is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company.
The course of the expressway takes it alongside the coastline of the Sea of Japan (Nihonkai) in the Tōhoku region of Japan.
The Nihonkai-Tōhoku Expressway is the operating name for the sections of the Nihonkai Engan Tōhoku Expressway that are operated by East Nippon Expressway Company. The Nihonkai Engan Tōhoku Expressway is an official designation consisting of several routes that link Niigata with Aomori via Yamagata and Akita,[2] reaching a total of approximately 322 km.[3]
The first section of the expressway was opened to traffic in 2001. As of March 2008 the expressway incomplete in many areas. The next section is scheduled to open in 2009 (Nakajō Interchange to Arakawa Interchange)[4] to coincide with the National Sports Festival which is planned to be held in Niigata that year. After this, all future sections will be built according to the New Direct Control System, whereby the burden for construction costs will be shared by the national and local governments and no tolls will be collected. Currently the section between Honjō Interchange and Iwaki Interchange operates according to this principle.[5]
The expressway is 4 lanes from Niigata-Chūō Junction to Toyosaka Service Area, and 2 lanes for all remaining sections.
The route parallels the Uetsu Main Line of East Japan Railway Company and National Route 7 for much of its length.
| No. | Name | Connections | Dist. from Origin | Dist. from Terminus | Bus Stop | Notes | Location (all in Niigata) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Through to Hokuriku Expressway | ||||||||
| (42) | Niigata-Chūō JCT | Ban-etsu Expressway | 0.0 | 67.5 | Kōnan-ku, Niigata | |||
| 1[43] | Niigata-Kameda IC | National Route 49 | 3.2 | 64.3 | ||||
| 1-1/BS | Niigata-Higashi SIC/Nishino Bus Stop | Pref. Route 4 (Niigata Port Yokogo Route) | 7.4 | 60.1 | ○ | |||
| 2[44] | Niigata Airport IC | Pref. Route 16 (Niigata Kameda Uchino Route) | 9.2 | 58.3 | ||||
| 2-1/SA | Toyosaka SA/SIC | Pref. Route 27 (Niigata Yasuda Route) | 11.7 | 55.8 | SIC: Nakajō-bound exit, Niigata-bound entrance only | Kita-ku, Niigata | ||
| BS | Kuzutsuka Bus Stop | 16.6 | 50.9 | ○ | ||||
| 3 | Toyosaka- Niigatahigashikō IC | Pref. Route 46 (Niigata Chūō Kanjō Route) | 18.3 | 49.2 | ||||
| 4 | Seirō-Shibata IC | National Route 7 (Niigata Bypass) | 25.7 | 41.8 | ○ | Seirō | ||
| BS | Kajikawa-Shiunji Bus Stop | 31.6 | 35.9 | ○ | Shibata | |||
| Emergency Exit | ↓ | ↑ | Access for Shibata Hospital Authorized vehicles only | |||||
| 5 | Nakajō IC | Pref. Route 591 (Nakajō Inter Route) | 36.9 | 30.6 | Tainai | |||
| TB | Nakajō Toll Gate | 37.0 | 30.5 | |||||
| BS | Tainai Bus Stop | 41.4 | 26.1 | ○ | ||||
| 6 | Arakawa-Tainai IC | National Route 113 | 46.6 | 20.9 | Murakami | |||
| PA/BS | Arakawa PA/BS | 49.1 | 18.4 | X | Bus Stop closed | |||
| 7 | Kamihayashi-Iwafunekō IC | 53.7 | 13.8 | |||||
| 8 | Murakami-Senamionsen IC | Pref. Route 286 (Iwafune Port Route) Pref. Route 531 (Murakami Kamihayashi Route) | 57.7 | 9.8 | ||||
| 9 | Murakami-Saberi IC | Pref. Route 207 (Ōkurida Murakami Route) | 61.4 | 6.1 | Asahi-bound exit, Murakami-bound entrance only | |||
| 10 | Asahi-Miomote IC | Pref. Route 349 (Tsuruoka Murakami Route) | 63.7 | 4.2 | Asahi-bound exit, Murakami-bound entrance only | |||
| 11 | Asahi-Mahoroba IC | Pref. Route 208 (Koage Sarusawa Route) | 67.5 | 0 | ||||