Expressway closed section due to the 2007 Niigata Chuetsu-oki Earthquake
Partial cancellation and addition of toll free measures section
- Corporate Top
- Press Room
- Press Release Niigata office
- Expressway closed section due to the 2007 Niigata Chuetsu-oki Earthquake
July 17, 2007
As of 11:30
East Nippon Expressway Co., Ltd.
Niigata Regional Head Office
NEXCO EAST Niigata Regional Head Office (Nishi-ku, Niigata City, Regional Head Office President: Yoshio Shiraishi) was implemented on the Hokuriku Expressway following the 2007 Niigata Chuetsu-oki Earthquake that occurred at 10:13 on July 16, 2007. For some sections of the closed road section where the emergency restoration of the disaster area has been completed, it will be canceled as follows.
In addition to this suspension of traffic closure, additional toll free measures will be implemented to deal with detour vehicles on general national highway No. 8.
When traveling, please follow the speed regulation and drive safely.
1 Section and date and time when suspension of traffic is released
Tuesday, July 17, 2007 at 12:00
| Upper and lower | Closed section | Remarks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self | Solstice | ||||
| Hokuriku Expressway | Up and down | Yoneyama IC | ⇔ | Nagaoka JCT | ※1 ※2 ※3 ※4 |
- General vehicles other than emergency vehicles cannot be leaked at the Kashiwazaki IC to avoid congestion in the city of Kashiwazaki.
- Of the sections above, some of the sections between Yoneyama IC and Kashiwazaki IC are one-sided.
- Special vehicles with a vehicle width of more than 3.0 m cannot pass.
- The rest facilities in the above section are limited to the following facilities.
| Area name | Up and down | Available facilities | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yoneyama SA (Between Kashiwazaki IC and Yoneyama IC) | Up | Vending machine, gas station, toilet | Restaurant, shopping corner and snack corner are not available |
| Ozumi PA (Nagaoka JCT ⇒ Nishiyama IC) | Up | Shopping corner, vending machine, toilet | You cannot use the snack corner |
| Ozumi PA (Nishiyama IC ⇒ Nagaoka JCT) | under | Normal business (shopping corner, snack corner, vending machine), toilet | |
| Kariwa PA (Kashiwazaki IC ⇔ Nishiyama IC) | Up and down | Closure |
2 Addition of toll free measures section
The toll free section is added as follows.
Start date and time:
(We will inform you about the end time separately.)
Large Hokuriku Expressway Nou IC-Joetsu IC between Nou IC and Kakizaki IC, which had been carrying out free traffic measures from 21:00 on July 16th.
- Please note that if you go beyond the section of (1) or (2), the measures will not be applied and you will have to pay the full toll of the section you actually used.
(Examples where free traffic measures are not applied: Toyama IC-Kakizaki IC, Kashiwazaki IC-Nakanoshima Mitsuke IC, Yoneyama IC-Koide IC) - When using with ETC, it will be displayed on the charge display and ETC use inquiry service, but it will not be charged.
3 remaining closed sections
| Upper and lower | Closed section | Remarks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self | Solstice | ||||
| Hokuriku Expressway | Up and down | Kakizaki IC | ⇔ | Yoneyama JCT | Emergency vehicles are allowed only on the Out-bound line |
- Emergency designated vehicle equipped with red light
- Vehicles carrying an "emergency vehicle verification certificate"
Regarding the remaining closed sections of 3 above, detailed inspections are currently underway because damage has occurred such as falling of concrete surface in Yoneyama tunnel (upper and lower lines) and damage of bridge support.
The timing of the suspension of traffic closure will be announced as soon as the prospect is clear, after coordination with related organizations.
4 Damage situation
The damage from the Hokuriku Expressway Nou IC to Nagaoka JCT (for the Expressway main line) due to this earthquake is as follows, including those that have already been temporarily restored.
- Two large steps (50 cm) and about 40 medium-sized steps (20 cm to 50 cm)
- One concrete drop off in Hachizaki tunnel (In-bound line), Yoneyama tunnel (up/down line), Kashiwazaki tunnel (In-bound line), and Shinjizo tunnel (In-bound line)
- Damaged bridge bearings at 4 locations
- In addition, there are approximately 200 small steps and cracks.