The , also known as the Trans-Tokyo Bay Expressway, is an expressway that is mainly made up of a

bridge–tunnel A bridge–tunnel is a persistent, unbroken road or railway, rail connection across water that uses a combination of bridges and tunnels, and sometimes causeways, and does not involve intermittent connections such as Moveable bridge, drawbridges ...

combination across

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan spanning the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture, on the southern coast of the island of Honshu. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. Th ...

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 connects the city of Kawasaki in

Kanagawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

with the city of

Kisarazu is a Cities of Japan, city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 136,023 in 63,431 households and a population density of 980 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Kisarazu is loca ...

Chiba Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama ...

, and forms part of National Route 409. With an overall length of 23.7 km, it includes a 4.4 km bridge and 9.6 km tunnel underneath the bay—the fourth-longest underwater tunnel in the world.

Overview

artificial island An artificial island or man-made island is an island that has been Construction, constructed by humans rather than formed through natural processes. Other definitions may suggest that artificial islands are lands with the characteristics of hum ...

, , marks the transition between the bridge and tunnel segments and provides a rest stop with restaurants, shops, and amusement facilities. A distinctive tower standing above the middle of the tunnel, the Kaze no Tō (の, "the tower of wind"), supplies air to the tunnel, its ventilation system powered by the bay's almost-constant winds. Tokyo_Wan_Aqua-Line

The Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line shortened the drive between Chiba and Kanagawa, two important industrial areas, from 90 to 15 minutes, and also helped cut travel time from Tokyo and Kanagawa to the seaside leisure spots of the southern

Bōsō Peninsula The is a peninsula that encompasses the entirety of Chiba Prefecture on Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It is part of the Greater Tokyo Area. It forms the eastern edge of Tokyo Bay, separating it from the Pacific Ocean. The peninsula covers ...

. Before it opened, the trip entailed a 100 km journey along

and pass through central Tokyo. An explicit goal of the Aqua-Line was to redirect vehicular flow away from central Tokyo, but the expensive toll has meant only a limited reduction in central-Tokyo traffic. Many highway bus services now use the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line, including lines from

Tokyo Station Tōkyō Station (, ) is a major railway station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The original station is located in Chiyoda's Marunouchi business district near the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Imperial Palace grounds. The newer Eastern extension is not far ...

Yokohama Station is a major interchange railway station in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. It is the busiest station in Kanagawa Prefecture and the fifth-busiest in the world as of 2013, serving 760 million passengers a year. Lines Yokohama Station is served by t ...

, Kawasaki Station,

Shinagawa Station is a major railway station in the Takanawa and Konan districts of Minato, Tokyo, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central), and the private railway operator Keikyu. The Tokaido Shinkans ...

Shibuya Station is a major railway station in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), Keio Corporation, Tokyu Corporation, and Tokyo Metro. It serves as a terminal for six railway lines, five of which are operated by Tokyo Metro ...

Shinjuku Station is a major railway station in Tokyo, Japan, that serves as the main connecting hub for rail traffic between central/eastern Tokyo (the Special wards of Tokyo, special wards) and Western Tokyo on the inter-city rail, commuter rail, and rapid tr ...

and

Haneda Airport , also known as and sometimes abbreviated to ''Tokyo-Haneda'', is the busier of the two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary domestic base of J ...

Kimitsu is a Cities of Japan, city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 83,058 in 39,138 households and a population density of 260 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Overview The area along Tokyo ...

, Nagaura station, Ichihara,

Mobara is a city located in Chiba Prefecture. , the city had an estimated population of 88,330 in 40,869 households and a population density of 880 persons per km2. The total area of the city is Geography Mobara is located in an inland area of north-ce ...

Tōgane is a Cities of Japan, city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 57,780 in 26,907 households and a population density of 650 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Tōgane is home to the ''K ...

, Kamogawa, Katsuura and Tateyama.

History

One of the last Japanese megaprojects of the 20th century, the roadway was built at a cost of the ¥1.44 trillion (US$11.2 billion) and opened on December 18, 1997 by then-

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

Naruhito Naruhito (born 23 February 1960) is Emperor of Japan. He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne following 2019 Japanese imperial transition, the abdication of his father, Akihito, on 1 May 2019, beginning the Reiwa era. He is the 126th monarch, ...

and then-

Crown Princess A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown princ ...

Masako after 23 years of planning and nine years of construction. The roadway was conceived during the bubble economy of the late 1980s. At opening time, the roadway had the highest toll fee in Japan a one-way trip costs ¥5050 or ¥334 per kilometer. Due to its expensive toll, analysts see lower traffic volume than what

Japan Highway Public Corporation , or JH, was a public company established after World War II to construct and manage highway networks in Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it i ...

, the operator of the roadway, expected at 25,000 cars.

Tolls

The cash toll for a single trip on the Aqua-Line is ¥3,140 for ordinary-size cars (¥2,510 for

kei car Kei car is the smallest category of Japanese expressway-legal motor vehicles. The term ''kei'' is a shortening of , (kanji: ), which translates to English as "light vehicle" (). With restricted dimensions and engine specifications, owners ...

s); however, using 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 ...

(electronic toll collection) system, the fare is ¥2320 (¥1860 for kei cars). The ETC toll is reduced to ¥1000 on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. In general, tolls for usage of the Aqua-Line in either direction are collected at the mainline toll plaza on the Kisarazu end.

References

External links

Japan Highways site (in Japanese)
*
East Nippon Expressway Company

* * * * * * * * * {{Expressways of Japan Transport buildings and structures in Chiba Prefecture Transport buildings and structures in Kanagawa Prefecture Buildings and structures in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Toll bridges in Japan Toll tunnels in Japan Road tunnels in Japan Cross-sea bridges in Asia Undersea tunnels in Japan Bridges completed in 1997 Regional High-Standard Highways in Japan Roads in Chiba Prefecture Tokyo Bay Tunnels completed in 1997 Transport in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Articles containing video clips Immersed tube tunnels in Asia Bridge–tunnels in Asia Expressways in Japan 1997 establishments in Japan

Overview

History

Tolls

See also

References

External links