The is an incomplete expressway that exists in multiple segments in

Miyagi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,265,724 (1 August 2023) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akit ...

and

Iwate Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It is the second-largest Japanese prefecture (behind Hokkaido) at , with a population of 1,165,886 (as of July 1, 2023). Iwate Prefecture borders Aomori Pre ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The expressway connects Sendai, the capital and largest city in Miyagi Prefecture, to Miyako in Iwate Prefecture. It follows the coast of the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

in the northern parts of the

Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, , or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains ...

, otherwise known as the Sanriku Coast. It is owned and operated by

East Nippon Expressway Company The , abbreviated as , is one of the main operators of expressways and toll roads in Japan. It is headquartered in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company was established on October 1, 2005 as a result of the privatization of Japan Highway P ...

(NEXCO East Japan), the Miyagi Prefecture Road Corporation, and the

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism The , abbreviated MLIT, is a ministry of the Japanese government.国土交通省設置法

(MLIT). The route is signed as an auxiliary route of National Route 45 as well as E6 and E45 under MLIT's "2016 Proposal for Realization of Expressway Numbering." It is one of three routes numbered E45, the other two are the Sanriku-kita Jūkan Road and the Hachinohe-Kuji Expressway, and one of many routes numbered E6, although the Sanriku Expressway only carries the number close to its southern terminus in Sendai. When completed, all of these routes will form an expressway that travels from the

Tokyo Gaikan Expressway The is a national Expressways of Japan, expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company. Overview The name Gaikan refers to the route's status as an outer ring road (beltway) for Tokyo. The expressway is also re ...

Saitama Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (January 1, 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 Square kilometre, km2 ( ...

along the Pacific Coast to

Hachinohe is a city located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 213,453 in 110,121 households, and a population density of . As of October 2020, Hachinohe is Aomori Prefecture's second largest city by population. The c ...

Aomori Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori (city), Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is border ...

Naming

The expressway is named after the Sanriku region of northern Japan. The region was named Sanriku in the aftermath of the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Impe ...

, the provinces of Mutsu and Dewa were divided. Mutsu was split into new five provinces: Rikuō (also read ''Mutsu''), Rikuchū,

Rikuzen is an old province of Japan in the area of Miyagi Prefecture (excluding Igu, Katta and Watari Districts) and parts of Iwate Prefecture (specifically Kesen District). Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Rikuzen''" in . It was sometimes c ...

, Iwashiro and Iwaki. The first three of these collectively known as the "Three Riku", or ''Sanriku'', with san (三) meaning "three." They are now known, respectively, as

, Iwate Prefecture, and Miyagi Prefecture. When completed the Sanriku Expressway and Sanriku-kita Jūkan Road will span these three prefectures.

Future

The expressway is expected to be entirely completed by 2020 as part of a region-wide recovery effort from the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46:24 UTC), a 9.0–9.1 Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region. It lasted approx ...

Junction list

TB= Toll booth, PA= Parking Area , colspan="8" style="text-align: center;", , colspan="8" style="text-align: center;",

References

External links

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport: Tohoku Regional Development Bureau

East Nippon Expressway Company
{{East Nippon Expressway Company Roads in Miyagi Prefecture Roads in Iwate Prefecture Expressways in Japan 1982 establishments in Japan

Naming

Future

Junction list

See also

References

External links