The is a tolled expressway that connects Hyōgo and

Tokushima is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 682,439 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,146 Square kilometre, km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture b ...

prefectures in Japan by crossings of the

Akashi Strait The is a strait between the Japanese islands of Honshu and Awaji. The strait connects Seto Inland Sea and Osaka Bay. The width of the Akashi Strait is approximately 4 kilometers, and maximum depth is about 110 meters. The fastest tidal curren ...

and

Naruto Strait is a strait between Awaji Island and Shikoku in Japan. It connects Harima Nada, the eastern part of the Inland Sea and the Kii Channel. A famous feature of the strait is the Naruto whirlpools. Ōnaruto Bridge The is a suspension bri ...

. Built between 1970 and 1998, it is one of the three routes of the

Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Expressway Company The , abbreviated as in Japanese or HSBE in English, operates the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway, Kobe-Awaji-Naruto, Nishiseto Expressway, Nishiseto, and Seto-Chūō Expressway, Seto-Chūō Expressways of Japan, expressways and Honshū-Shikoku Bri ...

connecting

Honshū , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...

and

Shikoku is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...

islands. The route is signed E28 under

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

's "2016 Proposal for Realization of Expressway Numbering."

Route description

The expressway is long with of that stretch consisting of bridges, chiefly the

Akashi Kaikyō Bridge The is a suspension bridge that links the city of Kobe on the Japanese island of Honshu and on Awaji Island. It is part of the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway, and crosses the busy and turbulent Akashi Strait (''Akashi Kaikyō'' in Japanese). ...

and

Ōnaruto Bridge The is a suspension bridge that carries 4 lanes of the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway connecting Minamiawaji, Hyogo on Awaji Island with Naruto, Tokushima on Ōge Island, Japan. Completed in 1985, it has a main span of . Although it is one ...

. The expressway has four lanes along the entire route from

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

Naruto ''Naruto'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. T ...

in Tokushima, with an exception along the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, were it has six lanes. The speed limit is 70 km/h between Awajishima-minami Interchange and Naruto-kita Interchange, 100 km/h between Awaji Interchange and Seidan-Mihara Interchange as well as between Kobe-Nishi Interchange and Tarumi Junction. The remainder of the expressway has a speed limit set at 80 km/h.

History

On 8 June 1985 the first sections of the expressway opened. These were between Tsuna-Ichinomiya Interchange and Sumoto Interchange and between Naruto-kita Interchange and the now defunct Seidan Interchange. The latter of the two sections includes the Ōnaruto Bridge. On 23 May 1987, the road was extended south from Naruto-kita Interchange to its southern terminus at Naruto Interchange. Next, on 8 October 1987, the highway between Sumoto IC and Seidan-Mihara Interchange was opened. The opening of Seidan-Mihara Interchange necessitated the closure of Seidan Interchange. On 5 April 1998 the highway between Kobe-Nishi Interchange and Tsuna-Ichinomiya Interchange was opened with the completion of the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge. The most recent development on the expressway came on 17 February 2018, when the

ETC * Etc. or et cetera, a Latin expression meaning "and the other things" or "and the rest". ETC or etc may also refer to: Companies and organizations * ETC (Chilean TV channel), a Chilean cable television channel * ETC (Philippine TV channel), a ...

-only Awajishima-chuo Smart Interchange was opened.

Junction list

TB= Toll booth, SA= Service Area, PA= Parking Area , colspan="8" style="text-align: center;", Through to JP Expressway E2

San'yō Expressway , colspan="8" style="text-align: center;", Through to /

References

External links

Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Expressway Company Limited: E28 KOBE-AWAJI-NARUTO EXPWY
{{Expressways of Japan Expressways in Japan Roads in Hyōgo Prefecture Roads in Tokushima Prefecture 1985 establishments in Japan

Route description

History

Junction list

See also

References

External links