The Tōhoku-Chūō Expressway (東北中央自動車道) (lit. Central Tōhoku Expressway) is a 2-laned national expressway in the Tōhoku region of Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). The expressway is numbered E13 under the MLIT's "2016 Proposal for Realization of Expressway Numbering."

Overview

The expressway is incomplete in many areas, however it is planned to eventually be a continuous route spanning northern Fukushima, Yamagata, and southern Akita prefectures. As of July 2019, all gaps in the expressway are in the process of being eliminated, with all gaps in near the border between Yamagata and Akita set to be removed. The route of the expressway parallels the Ōu Main Line of East Japan Railway Company for most of its length. The speed limit is 70 km/h along the majority of the route, there are short 80 km/h sections between Yonezawa-kita and Yonezawa-Hachimanbara interchanges and Higashine and Higashine-kita interchanges.

History

After 1984, the roads along this section were sporadically constructed, but in 1987, the Cabinet decided that they would be developed together as the Tohoku Chuo Expressway from Soma, Fukushima to Yokote, Akita. Since then the road has gradually been extended by adding short extensions. The 8.8 km long Yonezawa-Nan'yō Road was incorporated into the Tōhoku-Chūō Expressway on 4 November 2017. MLIT began construction on the last gap of the road on 30 March 2018, a 3.5 km long section in Kaneyama, Yamagata. Effective November 30, 2023, the section of [Yuzawa-Yokote Road](https://bliptext.com/articles/yuzawa-yokote-road) connecting Yuzawa and Yokote, which is an automobile-only road, was incorporated into the Tōhoku-Chūō Expressway.

List of major junctions