Hanwa Expressway

The is a national expressway in the Kinki region of Japan. It is owned and operated by West Nippon Expressway Company.

Naming Hanwa is a kanji acronym of two characters. The first character represents Osaka (大阪) and the second character represents Wakayama (和歌山).

Officially, the route is designated as the Kinki Expressway Matsubara Nachikatsuura Route, however this designation does not appear on any signage.

Overview The expressway is an important route connecting the greater Osaka area with Wakayama, the capital of Wakayama Prefecture. Beyond Wakayama, the route follows a southerly course parallel to the Pacific Ocean to its terminus with National Route 42 in Tanabe.

The first section of the expressway was opened to traffic in 1974. The final section of the expressway (5.8 km between Minabe Interchange and Nanki-Tanabe Interchange) was opened on November 11, 2007.

The expressway is 6 lanes from Matsubara Junction to Sakai Junction, 4 lanes from Sakai Junction to Arida Interchange and the remainder is 2 lanes. Construction to expand the route to 4 lanes is currently underway on the section between Arida Interchange and Gobō Interchange. The speed limit is 80 km/h on 4 to 6-laned sections and 70 km/h on 2-laned sections.

List of interchanges and features

IC - interchange, SIC - smart interchange, JCT - junction, SA - service area, PA - parking area, BS - bus stop, TN - tunnel, BR - bridge

No.NameConnectionsDist. fromOriginBus StopNotesLocation Through to Kinki Expressway 10Matsubara JCT Nishi-Meihan ExpresswayHanshin Expressway Route 14 Matsubara Route0.0MatsubaraOsaka11Matsubara ICPref. Route 2 (Osaka Chūō Kanjōsen)0.9Northbound entrance only12Mihara-kita ICPref. Route 36 (Izumiotsu Mihara Route)3.9Tanabe-bound exit, Matsubara-bound entrance onlySakai12-1Mihara JCT Minami-Hanna Road 4.413Mihara-minami ICPref. Route 36 (Izumiotsu Mihara Route) 6.1Matsubara-bound exit, Tanabe-bound entrance onlySakai TBMatsubara-bound only14Sakai JCT Sakai Senboku Road 12.4Tanabe-bound exit, Matsubara-bound entrance only15Sakai ICPref. Route 61 (Sakai Katsuragi Route) 13.216Kishiwada-Izumi ICPref. Route 230 (Haruki Kishiwada Route) 23.3Matsubara-bound exit, Tanabe-bound entrance onlyIzumiKishiwada TBTanabe-bound onlyKishiwadaSAKishiwada SA 28.217Kaizuka ICPref. Route 40 (Kishiwada Ushitakiyama Kaizuka Route) 32.4Kaizuka18Izumisano JCT Kansai-Kūkō Expressway38.7Izumisano19Sennan ICPref. Route 63 (Izumisano Iwade Route) 44.6Tanabe-bound exit, Matsubara-bound entrance onlySennan20Hannan ICBus StopPref. Route 256 (Higashi-Tottori Nankai Route) <br/ >Pref. Route 257 (Jinenda Tottorinoshō Teishajō Route) 46.3XBus Stop ClosedHannan 20-1Wakayama JCT Keinawa Expressway Kitan Connecting Road (planned)52.6Matsubara-bound onlyWakayamaWakayamaSAKinokawa SA 55.0Wakayama JCT←→SA: no access 20-1Wakayama JCT Keinawa Expressway Kitan Connecting Road (planned)55.8Tanabe-bound onlyBSKii Bus StopXClosed20-2Wakayama-kita ICPref. Route 139 (Azushima Funadokoro Route) 58.7Tanabe-bound exit, Matsubara-bound entrance only21Wakayama IC National Route 24 (Wakayama Bypass)60.6BSNarukami Bus StopSBSKishū Okazaki Bus StopXClosed21-1Wakayama-minami SICPref. Route 13 (Wakayama Hashimoto Route)65.022Kainan-higashi ICPref. Route 18 (Kainan Kanaya Route)70.8Tanabe-bound exit, Matsubara-bound entrance onlyKainanBSKainan Higashi Bus StopXClosed23Kainan IC National Route 42 73.624Shimotsu ICPref. Route 166 (Oki Kamogō Teishajō Route)75.9Tanabe-bound exit, Matsubara-bound entrance only25Arida ICPref. Route 22 (Kibi Kanaya Route) National Route 4283.0Matsubara-bound entrance onlyAridagawa26Arida-minami IC84.0Matsubara-bound exit, Tanabe-bound entrance onlyPAKibi Yuasa PA85.627Yuasa IC86.6Tanabe-bound exit, Matsubara-bound entrance onlyYuasa28Hirokawa IC National Route 4289.1Hirogawa28-1Minami-Hirokawa ICPref. Route 176 (Iseki Gobō Route)93.6Tanabe-bound exit, Matsubara-bound entrance only29Kawabe ICPref. Route 190 (Gengo Komatsubaru Route)97.5Tanabe-bound exit, Matsubara-bound entrance onlyHidakagawa30Gobō ICPref. Route 27 (Hidaka Inami Route)101.7Gobō31Gobō-minami ICPref. Route 25 (Gobō Nakatsu Route)103.1Matsubara-bound exit, Tanabe-bound entrance only32Inami ICPref. Route 28 (Inami Harainami Route)111.5InamiBSInami SA<br/ >Bus Stop113.9S33Minabe IC National Route 424123.1Minabe34Nanki-Tanabe IC National Route 42 (Tanabe Nishi Bypass)128.9TanabeThrough to Kisei Expressway

External links West Nippon Expressway Company