Kan-etsu Expressway

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The Kan-Etsu Expressway (関越自動車道, Kan'etsu Jidōsha-dō) is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned and managed by East Nippon Expressway Company.

Naming

Kan-Etsu (関越) is the kanji acronym of Kantō (関東) and the old Echigo Province (越後国) comprising modern-day Niigata Prefecture.

Officially, the Kan-Etsu consists of two routes. Both begin in Tokyo and end in Niigata Prefecture. The Kan-Etsu Expressway Niigata Route consists of the entire Kan-Etsu Expressway from Nerima to Nagaoka, as well as the Hokuriku Expressway beyond Nagaoka to its terminus in the city of Niigata. The Kan-Etsu Expressway Jōetsu Route is concurrent with the Niigata Route until Fujioka Junction, where it branches off as the Jōshin-etsu Expressway and traverses Nagano Prefecture to its terminus in Jōetsu, Niigata.[3]

Route description

Kan-Etsu Expressway in Minamiuonuma
Kan-Etsu Tunnel

The expressway begins in Nerima Ward in the north of Tokyo; the Kan-etsu is the only national expressway linking Tokyo that does not have a direct connection with the urban Shuto Expressway network. A junction with the Tokyo Gaikan Expressway near the origin links the Kan-etsu with other expressways serving northern parts of the Tokyo urban area. From here the expressway follows a roughly northwesterly course to its terminus in Niigata Prefecture, passing through central areas of Saitama Prefecture and Gunma Prefecture. In Gunma the Kan-etsu Expressway provides access to Nagano Prefecture by way of the Jōshin-etsu Expressway at Fujioka Junction, and the completion of the Kita-Kantō Expressway in 2011[4] facilitated access to Tochigi Prefecture and Ibaraki Prefecture. The mountainous area separating Gunma and Niigata Prefectures is traversed by the Kan-Etsu Tunnel, the second longest road tunnel in Japan.[5] The expressway then passes through southern Niigata Prefecture before terminating at a junction with the Hokuriku Expressway in Nagaoka. The route is six lanes from Ōizumi Junction to Shibukawa-Ikaho Interchange, and all other sections are four lanes. The expressway parallels National Route 17 and the Jōetsu Shinkansen of East Japan Railway Company for most of its length.[6]

History

The first section opened in 1971 and the entire route was opened to traffic in 1985.[7]

On the night of 16 December 2020, about 1,000 vehicles were trapped on the expressway after a trailer blocked it off due to it becoming stuck in the snow. In response, the company that manages the route supplied drivers who were stuck on the road until the next morning.[8] The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force was also deployed to the expressway to aid in the distribution of supplies to the stranded drivers.[9]

In December 2025, a crash involving 50 vehicles in snowy conditions killed 2 people.[10][11]

List of interchanges and features

Tokorozawa IC
  • IC - interchange, SIC - smart interchange, JCT - junction, SA - service area, PA - parking area, TB - toll gate, BS - bus stop, CB - snow chains, TN - tunnel, BR - bridge
No.NameConnectionsDist. fromoriginDist. fromterminusBus stopNotesSpeed limitLocation
1Nerima ICMet. Route 24 (Nerima Tokorozawa Route / Mejiro Dōri)0.0246.280 km/hNerimaTokyo
2Ōizumi JCTTokyo Gaikan Expressway0.8245.0IC entrance: Nagaoka-bound only
Ōizumi ICMet. Route 24 (Nerima Tokorozawa Route / Mejiro Dōri)
TBNiiza Toll Gate↓↑NiizaSaitama
100 km/h
3Tokorozawa ICNational Route 463 (Urawa Tokorozawa Bypass)9.4237.6Tokorozawa
PAMiyoshi PA/SIC13.9233.1Miyoshi
4Kawagoe ICNational Route 1621.2225.9Kawagoe
BSKawagoe-Matoba BS↓↑○
4-1Tsurugashima JCTKen-Ō Expressway27.8219.3Tsurugashima
5Tsurugashima ICNational Route 40729.6217.5
5-1Sakado-Nishi SICPref. Route 39 (Kawagoe Sakado Moroyama Route)32.5214.6Sakado
SATakasaka SA34.7212.4Higashi-matsuyama
6Higashi-matsuyama ICNational Route 254Pref. Route 47 (Fukaya Higashimatsuyama Route)39.4207.7
6-1Ranzan-Ogawa ICPref. Route 11 (Kumagaya Ogawa Chichibu Route)47.4199.7Ranzan
PARanzan PA50.1197.0
7Hanazono ICNational Route 14056.1191.0Fukaya
7-1PAYorii PA63.4183.7SIC: Nagaoka-bound onlyFukaya/Yorii
8Honjō-Kodama ICNational Route 46269.6177.5Honjō
8-1SAKamisato SA/SIC75.5170.6Kamisato
9Fujioka JCTJōshin-etsu Expressway78.6167.5FujiokaGunma
9-1Takasaki-Tamamura SICNational Route 354 (Takasaki-Tamamura Bypass)82.7163.4Takasaki
9-2Takasaki JCTE50Kita-Kantō Expressway84.6161.5
10Takasaki ICPref. Route 27 (Takasaki Komagata Route)87.0159.1
11Maebashi ICNational Route 1792.1154.0Takasaki/Maebashi
11-1PAKomayose PA/SIC98.5147.6Yoshioka
12Shibukawa-Ikaho ICNational Route 17 (Shibukawa Bypass)103.4142.7Shibukawa
80 km/h
BRNo.1 Tonegawa Bridge↓↑Length: 784 m
CBMiharada CB↓↑Nerima-bound only
12-1/PAAkagi IC/PAPref. Route 70 (Ōmama Kamishiroi Route)111.2134.9
SAAkagi-kōgen SA118.5127.6Shōwa
12-2Showa ICPref. Route 65 (Shōwa Inter Route)120.6125.5
13Numata ICNational Route 120125.8120.3Numata
CBNumata CB↓↑Nagaoka-bound only
14Tsukiyono ICNational Route 17131.1115.0Minakami
PAShimomoku PA135.5110.6
BRŌmine Bridge↓↑Length: 784 m
15Minakami ICNational Route 291141.0105.1
PATanigawadake PA146.0100.1
TNKan-Etsu Tunnel↓↑Nerima-bound 11,055 mNagaoka-bound 10,926 m70 km/h
YuzawaNiigata
PATsuchitaru PA157.588.680 km/h
16Yuzawa ICNational Route 17167.079.1○
TNIshiuchi Tunnel↓↑Nerima-bound 1,590 mNagaoka-bound 1,502 mMinami-uonuma
SAShiozawa-Ishiuchi SA(173.5)72.3Nerima-bound only
16-1/SAShiozawa-Ishiuchi IC/SAPref. Route 28 (Shiozawa Yamato Route)175.570.6SA: Nagaoka-bound only
BRNakanojima Bridge↓↑Length: 460 m
17Muikamachi ICNational Route 253186.959.2○
BRHakkai Bridge↓↑Length: 610 m
17-1/PAYamato PA/SIC198.347.8
18Uonuma ICNational Route 291204.441.7○Uonuma
18-1/PAHorinouchi IC/PAPref. Route 84 (Horinouchi Inter Route)212.134.0
BRKawaguchi Bridge↓↑Nagaoka
19/SAEchigo-Kawaguchi IC/SAPref. Route 83 (Kawaguchi Shiodono Route)220.925.2○
TNYamamotosan Tunnel↓↑Nerima-bound 1,838 mNagaoka-bound 1,804 mOjiya
20Ojiya ICNational Route 291228.817.3○
100 km/h
PAYamaya PA230.915.2
BSKatakai BS235.011.1○
BSKoshiji BS238.57.6○Nagaoka
20-1Nagaokaminami-Koshiji SICPref. Route 23 (Kashiwazaki Takahama Horinouchi Route)↓↑
21Nagaoka ICNational Route 8Pref. Route 86 (Nagaoka Inter Route)244.51.6○
80 km/h
(37)Nagaoka JCTHokuriku Expressway246.10.0
Through to Hokuriku Expressway

References

  1. ↑Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Kanto Regional Development Bureau. "Road Timetable". Archived from the original on 26 April 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ↑"Expressway Opening Dates". Retrieved 16 April 2008.
  3. ↑Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. "High Standard Trunk Road Map"(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on 20 September 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2008.
  4. ↑"E-NEXCO Opening Schedule". Archived from the original on 2007-10-16. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
  5. ↑Nagasaki University Geo-Environment Laboratory. "Kanetsu Tunnel". Archived from the original on 2008-04-08. Retrieved 2008-04-16.
  6. ↑"高速道路案内図"[Expressway guide map] (in Japanese). Japan Automobile Federation. Archived from the original on 23 November 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  7. ↑Japan Civil Engineering Contractors Association. "Construction History of Japan, 1985". Archived from the original on 29 April 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2008.
  8. ↑Kyodo (17 December 2020). "Thousand vehicles stranded, 10,000 without electricity after heavy snowfall". The Japan Times. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  9. ↑Yamamoto, Arata; Smith, Patrick (18 December 2020). "Huge traffic jam strands hundreds after heavy snowfall in Japan". NBC News. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  10. ↑"Two dead in 50-vehicle pile up on Japan highway". www.bbc.com. 2025-12-27.
  11. ↑"Huge crash on highway in Japan kills one and injures 26". The Independent. 2025-12-28.