The is a 4-laned national expressway in

Hokkaidō is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...

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 ...

. It is operated by the

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 ...

Naming

The name Sasson is a

kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...

of two characters. The first character represents and the second represents , which are the two cities connected by the expressway. Officially the expressway is a part of the Hokkaidō Ōdan Expressway Nemuro Route and Abashiri Route.

Overview

The first section of the expressway opened in 1971 with two lanes ahead of the

1972 Winter Olympics The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside ...

. Expansion to four lanes was completed in 1974. The entire route was completed in 1992 with a connection to the

Dō-Ō Expressway The is a national expressway in Hokkaido, Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company. Naming The road is named the Dō-Ō Expressway ( "Central Hokkaidō Expressway") in Japanese; however, it's also known as the Hokkaid ...

. The speed limit is 80 km/h along the entire route. The section from Sapporo-nishi Interchange through Sapporo Junction to Sapporo-minami Interchange on the

is built to an urban expressway standard and tolls are charged at a flat rate. As of March 2008 the toll on this section is 400

yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro. T ...

for regular passenger cars. Tolls on all other sections of the expressway are assessed according to distance travelled in the same manner as most other national expressways.

List of interchanges and features

* IC -

interchange Interchange may refer to: Transport * Interchange (road), a collection of ramps, exits, and entrances between two or more highways * Interchange (freight rail), the transfer of freight cars between railroad companies * Interchange station, a rai ...

, JCT -

junction Junction may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Junction'' (2012 film), an American film * ''Junction'' (2024 film), an American film * ''Jjunction'', a 2002 Indian film * ''Junction'' (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille * Junction (E ...

, PA -

parking area A parking lot or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface. In most jurisdic ...

, BS -

bus stop A bus stop is a place where Public transport bus service, buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelter (building), shelters ...

, TN -

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

, BR -

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

, TB -

toll gate Toll Gate or Tollgate may refer to: * Toll gate, a barrier across a toll road or toll bridge that is lifted when the toll is paid Entertainment * Tollgate (Hale single), "Tollgate" (Hale single) * ''The Toll-Gate'', a 1954 novel by Georgette Heye ...

References

External links

East Nippon Expressway Company
Expressways in Japan Transport in Sapporo Roads in Hokkaido 1971 establishments in Japan {{japan-road-stub