The Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway (神戸淡路鳴門自動車道, Kōbe-Awaji-Naruto Jidōsha-dō; shortened to Shintanmei-dō (神淡鳴道)) is a tolled expressway that connects Hyōgo and Tokushima prefectures in Japan by crossings of the Akashi Strait and Naruto Strait. Built between 1970 and 1998, it is one of the three routes of the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Expressway Company connecting Honshū and Shikoku islands. The route is signed E28 under Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's "2016 Proposal for Realization of Expressway Numbering."
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👉 Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway in the context of Tokushima Prefecture
Tokushima Prefecture (徳島県, Tokushima-ken; Japanese pronunciation: [to.kɯ̥ꜜ.ɕi.ma, tokɯ̥.ɕiꜜ.ma, to.kɯ̥.ɕi.maꜜ.keɴ]) is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 682,439 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,146 km (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the north, Ehime Prefecture to the west, and Kōchi Prefecture to the southwest.
Tokushima is the capital and largest city of Tokushima Prefecture, with other major cities including Anan, Naruto, and Yoshinogawa. Tokushima Prefecture is located on the Kii Channel, connecting the Pacific Ocean and Seto Inland Sea, across from Wakayama Prefecture on the Kii Peninsula of the island of Honshu. Tokushima Prefecture is connected to Awaji Island across the Naruto Strait by the Ōnaruto Bridge as part of the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway, connecting the prefecture to the city of Kobe and the San'yō Expressway on Honshu.
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Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway in the context of Akashi Kaikyo Bridge
The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge (Japanese: 明石海峡大橋, Hepburn: Akashi Kaikyō Ōhashi) is a suspension bridge that links the city of Kobe on the Japanese island of Honshu and Iwaya, Awaji on Awaji Island. It is part of the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway, and crosses the busy and turbulent Akashi Strait (Akashi Kaikyō in Japanese). It was completed in 1998, and at the time, was the longest central span of any suspension bridge in the world, at 1,991 metres (6,532 ft). Currently, it is the second-longest, behind the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge in Turkey that was opened in March 2022.
The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge is one of the key links of the Honshū–Shikoku Bridge Project, which created three routes across the Seto Inland Sea.
Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway in the context of Ōnaruto Bridge
The Ōnaruto Bridge (大鳴門橋, Ōnaruto-kyō; lit. "Great Naruto Bridge") is a suspension bridge that carries 4 lanes of the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway connecting Minamiawaji, Hyogo on Awaji Island with Naruto, Tokushima on Ōge Island, Japan. Completed in 1985, it has a main span of 876 metres (2,874 ft). Although it is one of the largest bridges in the world, it is dwarfed by the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, which is on the same route. In 2004, 6.8 million cars and trucks crossed this bridge, translating into a daily average of about 18,600.
The bridge is complemented by the Konaruto Bridge ("Small Naruto Bridge") and Muya Bridge between Ōge Island and Shikoku.