Keinawa Expressway


The Keinawa Expressway is an expressway in the Kinki region of Japan that connects Kyoto Prefecture to Wakayama Prefecture and its capital city Wakayama. It is numbered "E24" as outlined in the "2016 Proposal for Realization of Expressway Numbering."

Route description

The Keinawa Expressway generally follows the path of Japan National Route 24 from Kyoto to Wakayama. It begins at an interchange with the Shin-Meishin Expressway near Kyoto. From Kyoto the expressway travels south through Nara Prefecture, then crosses into Wakayama where it runs along the southern side of the Kisen Alps while travelling southwest towards Wakayama where it comes to an end at a junction with the Hanwa Expressway.
There are some gaps in the expressway that are linked by the previously named national highway. The purpose of this route is to serve as a high-speed route from Kyoto to Wakayama, bypassing Osaka to the west.

Naming

The name Keinawa is a kanji acronym of three characters. The first character represents Kyoto, the second Nara and the third character represents Wakayama. These are the names of the three prefectures in the Kinki region that the Keinawa Expressway links.

History

The highway was first proposed in 1973 as bypasses in the Kinki region that were not connected. The first section of the expressway connecting Jōyō, Kyoto and Kyotanabe, Kyoto was opened in 1988. The most recent section to open as of May 2018 was between the southern terminus with the Hanwa Expressway and Iwade-Negoro in Wakayama.

Junction list