Hokuriku Highway

	Template: Infobox high-level road / Maintenance / JP-A
	Hokuriku Highway in Japan
	map
	Basic data
Operator:	NEXCO Naka-Nihon
further operator:	NEXCO Higashi-Nihon
Start of the street:	Maibara
End of street:	Niigata
Overall length:	476 km
of which in operation:	476 km
Prefecture :	Niigata; Toyama; Ishikawa; Fukui; Shiga;
	Hokuriku Highway near Tsuruga

The Hokuriku Highway ( Japanese 北陸自動車道 , Hokuriku Jidōshadō ) is an important traffic connection in Japan and crosses the Japanese main island of Honshū from Niigata to Maibara and meets the Meishin Highway here . Its course essentially follows that of National Road 8 .

Street description

The Hokuriku Highway begins in Maibara, halfway between Nagoya and Kyoto on the Meishin Highway. The highway has 2 × 2 lanes and runs north into the coastal mountains. The mountains are not very high (up to 700 m), but steep. From Tsuruga, the highway runs close to the coast and through mountainous terrain. The highway passes several cities on the west coast such as Echizen, Fukui and Komatsu. Especially between Komatsu and Kanazawa, the highway runs right along the sea. Many junctions with other motorways cannot be found. Between Toyama and Kanazawa you cross the Tokai-Hokuriku Highway, a short branch on the northern peninsula. The Hokuriku Highway then turns northeast and leads back inland to Toyama. In this area there are higher mountains with up to 3,000 meters above sea level. However, the highway runs along the coast where the mountains are lower.

The Joshin-etsu highway from Nagano ends at Joetsu, and the Kan-etsu highway from Tokyo ends at Nagaoka. The highway then runs north through flatter areas and reaches the city of Niigata, one of the larger cities on the west coast of Japan. South of Niigata one crosses the Ban-etsu highway coming from Koriyama, and the Hokuriku highway merges into the Nihonkai-Tohoku highway which continues north along Niigata.

history

Planning for the Hokuriku Highway began in the 1960s, and on October 18, 1972, the first section between Komatsu and Kanazawa-nishi was opened to traffic. During the 1970s this part was expanded both north and south. In 1978, the first part opened in Niigata, and in 1980 the highway was connected to the Meishin Highway. On July 30, 1988, the last part of the highway in Tachiya was opened. In the beginning, not all parts were built directly with 2 × 2 lanes, but also with only one lane. In 2000 the last part was extended to 2 × 2 lanes at Itoigawa.

Opening dates of the motorway

from	to	length	date
Komatsu	Kanazawa-nishi	23 km	October 18, 1972
Tonami	Kosugi	14 km	10/16/1973
Maruoka	Komatsu	39 km	10/17/1973
Kanazawa-higashi	Tonami	27 km	October 29, 1974
Fukui	Maruoka	13 km	09.09.1975
Kosugi	Toyama	12 km	04/10/1975
Takefu	Fukui	16 km	11/02/1976
Tsuruga	Takefu	33 km	December 8th, 1977
Nagaoka	Kurosaki	9 km	09/21/1978
Kanazawa-nishi	Kanazawa-higashi	8 kilometers	10/12/1978
Maibara	Tsuruga	47 km	04/07/1980
Nishiyama	Nagaoka	14 km	08/27/1980
Toyama	Namerikawa	20 km	December 19, 1980
Kashiwazaki	Nishiyama	10 km	October 29, 1980
Yoneyama	Nishiyama	12 km	11/17/1982
Joetsu	Yoneyama	29 km	11/09/1983
Namerikawa	Asahi	22 km	12/13/1983
Nadachi Tanihama	Joetsu	14 km	07/21/1987
Asahi	Nadachi Tanihama	67 km	07/30/1988

Traffic volume

In 2005 there were around 27,000 vehicles a day at the beginning of the motorway near Maibara, which is stable until Kanazawa. Around 31,000 vehicles per day at Kanazawa. At Uozo a quietest point with 14,000 vehicles per day and at Niigata at the busiest point with 42,000 vehicles per day.

Expansion of the roadways

from	to	length	Lanes
Maibara	Niigata	477 km	2 × 2

Web links

Commons : Hokuriku Highway - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

Operating company East Nippon Expressway Company Limited (English)
Operating company Central Nippon Expressway Company Limited (English)
Hokuriku_Expressway_ (Japan) Wegenwiki (Dutch)


NEXCO Higashi-Nihon	Akita • Aomori • Ban'etsu • Dōtō • Hachinohe • Higashi-Kantō • Hokkaidō • Hokuriku • Jōban • Jōshin'etsu • Kamaishi • Kan'etsu • Kita-Kantō • Nagano • Nihonkai-Tōhoku • Sanriku • Sasson • Shin-Kūkō • Sasson • Shin-Kūkō • Tateyama • Tōhoku • Tōhoku-Chūō • Tōkyō-Gaikan • Yamagata
NEXCO Naka-Nihon	Chūbu-Ōdan • Chūō • Higashi-Meihan • Hokuriku • Ise • Isewangan • Kisei • Meishin • Mei-Nikan • Nagano • Nōetsu • Shin-Meishin • Tōkai-Hokuriku • Tōkai-Kanjō • Tōmei • Shin-Tōmei
NEXCO Nishi-Nihon	Chūgoku • Hamada • Hanwa • Harima • Higashi-Kyushu • Hiroshima • Kammon • Kansai Kuko • Keinawa • Kinki • Kōchi • Kyoto-Jukan • Kyushu • Maizuru-Wakasa • Matsue • Matsuyama • Meishin • Minami-Kyushu • Miyazaki • Nagasaki • Nishi-Kyushu • Nishi-Meihan • Ōita • Okayama • Okinawa • Onomichi • San'in • San'yō • Daini-Keihan • Shin-Meishin • Takamatsu • Tokushima • Tottori • Yonago
HSBE	Kobe Awaji Naruto • Nishiseto • Seto Chūō
City highways	Fukuoka • Hanshin • Hiroshima • Kitakyushu • Nagoya • Tokyo