Tokyo Gaikan Expressway

Route information
Existed	1992-–present
Location
Major cities	Wakō, Toda, Saitama, Kawaguchi, Sōka, Yashio, Misato

The Tokyo Gaikan Expressway (東京外環自動車道, Tōkyō Gaikan Jidōshadō) is a national 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 referred to simply as Gaikan for short. It is the 3rd out of 4 expressway ring routes in the greater Tokyo area; the first two being the Inner Circular Route and Central Circular Route of the Shuto Expressway, and the outermost being the Ken-Ō Expressway.

Currently only a section of the expressway on the northern side of the Tokyo area is open to traffic (Ōizumi Junction to Misato-minami Interchange). Part of this section was first opened in 1992, with the most recent addition opening in 2005. Most of this section is an elevated roadway built on the median of National Route 298 with curved windbreaks on both sides. Most of the roadway has two lanes in each direction (three lanes from Ōizumi Junction to Wakō-kita Interchange).

The eastern section is currently under construction and is expected to be completed in 2015, while the remaining western section is still in the planning stages. This section will pass though the densely populated suburbs of western Tokyo; it is expected that this section will consist mainly of tunnels constructed at least 40 m underground.

The toll for a regular passenger car is currently 500 yen regardless of the distance travelled. Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) is accepted.

Route description

(IC - interchange, JCT - junction, PA - parking area, BR - bridge, TB - toll gate)

No.	Name	Connections	Dist. from Origin	Notes	Location
Possibly through to Shuto Expressway Bayshore Route and Daisan Keihin Road
<30> <(2)>	Tōmei JCT	Tōmei Expressway		Planned	Setagaya	Tokyo
<40> <(2)>	Chūō JCT	Chūō Expressway		Planned	Mitaka
<41>	Tōhachi-dōro IC	Tōhachi-dōro (Met. Route 14 (Shinjuku Kunitachi Route))		Planned Same location as Chūō JCT
<42>	Ōme Kaidō IC	Ōme Kaidō		Planned Chūō-bound exit, Kan-Etsu-bound entrance only	Nerima
<43>	Mejiro-dōri IC	Mejiro-dōri (Pref. Route 24 (Nerima Tokorozawa Route))		Planned Same location as Ōizumi JCT
(2)	Ōizumi JCT	Kan-Etsu Expressway
50	Ōizumi IC	Mejiro-dōri (Pref. Route 24 (Nerima Tokorozawa Route))
51	Wakō IC	Pref. Route 88 (Wakō Inter Route)			Wakō	Saitama
52 PA	Wakō-kita IC Niikura PA	Route 298, Route 254 (Wakō Fujimi Bypass)		No through access between IC and PA U-turns possible at PA
BR	Sakitama Bridge			Cable-stayed bridge Length - 1,485 m
					Toda
53	Toda-nishi IC	Route 298		Misato-bound exit, Ōizumi-bound entrance only
60	Bijogi JCT	Shuto Expressway Route 5 (Ikebukuro Route), Route S5 (Saitama Ōmiya Route)		Controlled by traffic lights
61	Toda-higashi IC	Route 298		Ōizumi-bound exit, Misato-bound entrance only
62	Gaikan Urawa IC	Route 298		Ōizumi-bound exit, Misato-bound entrance only	Kawaguchi
63	Kawaguchi-nishi IC	Route 298		Misato-bound exit, Ōizumi-bound entrance only
64	Kawaguchi-Chūō IC	Route 298		Ōizumi-bound exit, Misato-bound entrance only
70 (1)	Kawaguchi JCT	Tōhoku Expressway, Shuto Expressway Route S1 (Kawaguchi Route)
71	Kawaguchi-higashi IC	Route 298		Ōizumi-bound exit, Misato-bound entrance only
72	Sōka IC	Route 298, Route 4			Sōka
<73> <PA>	Yashio JCT Gaikan Yashio PA	Higashi-Saitama Road (Planned)		Planned PA location TBD	Yashio
74	Gaikan Misato-nishi IC	Route 298		Misato-bound exit, Ōizumi-bound entrance only	Misato
80 (1)	Misato JCT	Jōban Expressway, Shuto Expressway Route 6 (Misato Route)
81	Gaikan Misato-higashi Toll Gate Misato-Daini IC	Route 298 (Planned)		TB: Jōban/Shuto ←→ Misato-minami IC only IC: Ōizumi-bound exit, Kōya-bound entrance only (Planned)
82	Misato-minami IC	Route 298		Kōya-bound exit, Ōizumi-bound entrance only
<83>	Matsudo IC	Route 298 (Planned)		Under construction Ōizumi-bound exit, Kōya-bound entrance only	Matsudo	Chiba
<84>	Kita-Chiba JCT	Kita-Chiba Road (Planned), Shuto Expressway Route 11 (Kita-Chiba Route) (Planned)		Under construction	Ichikawa
<85>	Ichikawa-kita IC	Route 298 (Planned), Pref. Route 264 (Takatsuka Shinden Ichikawa Route) (Planned)		Under construction Kōya-bound exit, Ōizumi-bound entrance only
<86>	Ichikawa-minami IC	Route 298		Under construction Ōizumi-bound exit, Kōya-bound entrance only
<90> (<1-1>)	Keiyō JCT	Keiyō Road		Under construction
<91>	Kōya IC	Route 298		Under construction Kōya-bound exit, Ōizumi-bound entrance only
<100> (<1>)	Kōya JCT	Higashi-Kantō Expressway, Shuto Expressway Bayshore Route		Under construction
Through to Daini Tokyo Wangan Road (Planned)

Gallery

• Gaikan above Route 298
  Gaikan above Route 298
• Sakitama Bridge
  Sakitama Bridge
• Gaikan passing under Tōhoku Shinkansen
  Gaikan passing under Tōhoku Shinkansen
• 
  Traffic lights at Bijogi JCT

External links

• Template:Ja icon NEXCO East
• Template:Ja icon About the Gaikan (Chiba section)