Ban-etsu Expressway

The name Ban-etsu (磐越) is a kanji acronym consisting of characters found in the former names of the provinces linked by the expressway. Iwaki Province (磐城) consists of the eastern part of present-day Fukushima Prefecture, and Echigo Province (越後) consists of present-day Niigata Prefecture.

Officially the expressway is referred to as the Tōhoku-Ōdan Expressway Iwaki Niigata Route.^[3]

 

The route of the expressway connects the coastlines of the Pacific Ocean and the Japan Sea by traversing the mountainous interior of the Tōhoku region.

The expressway commences at a junction with the Jōban Expressway in Iwaki, Fukushima and follows a northwesterly course to the city of Kōriyama, where it intersects with the Tōhoku Expressway. The expressway continues its course through the historic Aizu region, with Mount Bandai viewable to the north and Lake Inawashiro viewable to the south. The route then enters Niigata Prefecture and eventually terminates at a junction in Niigata City with the Hokuriku Expressway and Nihonkai-Tōhoku Expressway.

The route parallels the East Ban'etsu Line and West Ban'etsu Line of East Japan Railway Company and National Route 49 for much of its length.

The first section of the expressway was opened to traffic in 1990 and the entire route was completed in 1997.^[1] The route was originally 2 lanes only, one in each direction. However expansion to two lanes in each direction has proceeded gradually over the years. Expansion of the eastern half (between Iwaki Junction and Kōriyama Junction) was completed in 2009.^[4]

Using the Ban-etsu and Hokuriku Expressway to travel between the Tōhoku and Kinki regions is shorter and cheaper than using expressways that traverse a route via the greater Tokyo urban area.^[5]

All service areas along the route feature restaurants and shops (there are also shops at Gobyakugawa Parking Area). There are 24-hour gas stations at Abukumakōgen Service Area and Bandaisan Service Area. There is a 24-hour FamilyMart convenience store at Aganogawa Service Area (Niigata-bound only). Saiso Parking Area and Miharu Parking Area feature vending machines and toilets, while all other parking areas have only toilets.^[6]

• IC - interchange, SIC - smart interchange, JCT - junction, SA - service area, PA - parking area, BS - bus stop, TN - tunnel, BR - bridge

No.	Name	Connections	Dist. from Origin	Dist. from Terminus	Bus Stop	Notes	Speed Limit	Lanes	Location
(16-1)	Iwaki JCT	Jōban Expressway	0.0	212.7
							80 km/h	Four	Iwaki	Fukushima
TN	Gōdo Tunnel		↓	↑		Iwaki-bound 383 m Niigata-bound 373 m
1	Iwaki-Miwa IC	National Route 49 Pref. Route 66 (Onahama Ono Route)	8.8	203.9
TN	Watato Tunnel		↓	↑		Iwaki-bound 1,136 m Niigata-bound 1,131 m
PA	Saiso PA		18.7	194.0
2	Ono IC/JCT	Abukuma Kōgen Road   National Route 349	35.2	177.5	○				Ono
TN	Shinkazakoshi Tunnel		↓	↑		Iwaki-bound - 463 m Niigata-bound - 538 m
									Tamura
2-1	Tamura SIC	National Route 349	44.7	168.0		ETC only
SA	Abukumakōgen SA		46.8	165.9
3	Funehiki-Miharu IC	National Route 288	55.7	157.0
PA	Miharu PA		59.5	153.2					Miharu
3-1	Kōriyama-higashi IC	National Route 288	63.7	149.0					Kōriyama
(18-1)	Kōriyama JCT	Tōhoku Expressway	71.4	141.3
BR	Gohyakugawa Bridge		↓	↑		Length - 170 m
									Motomiya
PA	Gohyakugawa PA		76.5	136.2					Kōriyama
4	Bandaiatami IC	Pref. Route 24 (Nakanosawa Atami Route)	79.6	133.1
TN	Takatamahigashi Tunnel		↓	↑		Iwaki-bound 1,112 m Niigata-bound 1,122 m
TN	Takatamanishi Tunnel		↓	↑		Iwaki-bound 1,019 m Niigata-bound 993 m
TN	Shinnakayama Tunnel		↓	↑		Iwaki-bound 1,786 m Niigata-bound 1,820 m
TN	Kurateyama Tunnel		↓	↑		Iwaki-bound 1,648 m Niigata-bound 1,669 m
									Inawashiro
TN	Sekito Tunnel		↓	↑		Iwaki-bound 1,443 m Niigata-bound 1,488 m
5	Inawashiro Bandaikōgen IC	National Route 115	97.6	115.1
SA	Bandaisan SA		105.3	107.4					Bandai
6	Bandai Kawahigashi IC	Pref. Route 64 (Aizuwakamatsu Urabandai Route)	111.5	101.2					Aizu- wakamatsu
7	Aizuwakamatsu IC	National Route 121	117.5	95.2
							70 km/h	Two
7-1 PA	Niitsuru PA/SIC		124.7	88.0		SIC: ETC only			Aizumisato
TN	Nanaori Tunnel		↓	↑		Length - 2,358 m			Aizubange
8	Aizubange IC	National Route 49   National Route 252	132.4	80.3
BR	Tadamigawa Bridge		↓	↑		Length - 310 m
TN	Tabanematsu Tunnel		↓	↑		Length - 1,325 m
									Nishiaizu
TN	Toyasan Tunnel		↓	↑		Length - 2,600 m
TN	Nishiaizu Tunnel		↓	↑		Length - 1,018 m
9/PA	Nishiaizu IC/PA	National Route 49 Pref. Route 16 (Kitakata Nishiaizu Route)	143.8	68.9	○
TN	Nagasaka Tunnel		↓	↑		Length - 736 m
TN	Ryūgadake Tunnel		↓	↑		Length - 3,659 m
TN	Kuromoriyama Tunnel		↓	↑		Length - 2,759 m
									Aga	Niigata
TN	Koide Tunnel		↓	↑		Length - 1,121 m
PA	Kamikawa PA		162.6	50.1
10	Tsugawa IC	Pref. Route 89 (Tsugawa Inter Route)	166.2	46.5	○
TN	Yakiyama Tunnel		↓	↑		Length - 2,997 m
BS	Mikawa Bus Stop		172.8	39.9	○
11	Mikawa IC	Pref. Route 587 (Mikawa Inter Route)	174.0	38.7
TN	Yoshizu Tunnel		↓	↑		Iwaki-bound 906 m Niigata-bound 952 m
TN	Nishiyama Tunnel		↓	↑		Length - 2,402 m
TN	Kumawatari Tunnel		↓	↑		Length - 157 m
SA	Aganogawa SA		181.0	31.7
TN	Komatsu Tunnel		↓	↑		Length - 200 m			Agano
TN	Hōshusan Tunnel		↓	↑		Length - 611 m
12	Yasuda IC	Pref. Route 41 (Shirone Yasuda Route)	188.9	23.8	○
							80 km/h	Four
PA	Gosen PA		191.2	21.5					Gosen
							70 km/h	Two
13	Niitsu IC	Pref. Route 34 (Niitsu Teishajō Route)   National Route 460	198.5	14.2					Akiha-ku, Niigata
BS	Kawaguchi Bus Stop		202.2	10.5	○
13-1	Niitsu-nishi SIC	National Route 403	204.5			ETC only Iwaki-bound exit, Niigata-bound entrance only
BS	Sakaya Bus Stop		207.5	5.2	○				Kōnan-ku, Niigata
PA	Niigata PA		208.6	4.1
							100 km/h	Four
(42)	Niigata-Chūō JCT	Hokuriku Expressway   Nihonkai-Tōhoku Expressway	211.9	0.8
14	Niigata-Chūō IC	Pref. Route 16 (Niigata Kameda Uchino Route) Pref. Route 290 (Sonoki Hitoichi Route)	212.7	0.0

• (in Japanese) East Nippon Expressway Company
• (in Japanese) JAF Drive Map

37°02′16″N 140°49′02″E / 37.037744°N 140.817292°E / 37.037744; 140.817292 Iwaki JCT 37°52′26″N 139°02′21″E / 37.873871°N 139.039028°E / 37.873871; 139.039028 Niigata-Chūō IC