NEXCO East Japan held its first regular press conference for FY2023 on April 26.
At the conference, traffic congestion forecaster Hiromasa Ishigaki explained the key points of traffic congestion in his jurisdiction during Golden Week and how to avoid them.
Traffic congestion on expressways during GW 2023 is expected to be higher during the second half of the five-day weekend (May 3-7). As is the general trend when consecutive holidays are longer, the overall number of traffic jams is expected to be higher than in 2022, but the number of jams longer than 30 km is expected to decrease. This is due to the fact that GW in 2022 was a 3-day weekend + 3-day weekend + 2-day weekend, and also because the weather in the first half of the year was not so good.
Traffic congestion is forecast to be 108 times for both the up and down lanes. Of these, traffic congestion exceeding 30 km is expected to be 6 times, while traffic congestion between 10 and 30 km is expected to be 102 times. 2022 actual results are 93 times (14 times over 30 km + 79 times between 10 and 30 km), which will increase the overall number of times, but decrease long traffic congestion. Note that the actual number of times in 2019 before Corona was 155 (25 + 130).
Traffic congestion is expected to peak near Hanyu PA on the Tohoku Expressway on the 3rd and 4th in the down direction and near Takasaka SA on the Kan-etsu Expressway on the 4th and 5th in the up direction. Since traffic congestion of 10 km or more is not expected in the uphill direction on the 1st and 2nd, “If you can take a day off on the 1st and 2nd, move there”.
As a response to cases where it is impossible to change the date, Mr. Ishigaki, while showing a graph, said that it is best to use the evening to night time (after 5:00 p.m. in the graph) for downbound travel, and to complete travel early in the morning to mid-morning (about midnight to 11:00 a.m. in the graph) for upbound travel.
Finally, as traffic jams unique to GW, he mentioned the “nemophila traffic jam” caused by the blooming of nemophila at the state-run Hitachinaka Seaside Park in Ibaraki Prefecture and the “Tokyo Bay Aqua-line (downstream) traffic jam” on May 3-4, the busiest day of the year.
Nemophila traffic jams occur on the Joban Expressway downhill and near Tomobe JCT on the westbound Kita-Kanto Expressway, which serves as access to the park. In particular, the Tomobe JCT branch on the Joban Expressway downhill becomes congested from 8:00 to 12:00 on weekends and holidays, involving the lanes adjacent to the branch lane.
Therefore, Mr. Ishigaki recommends “going through the TOMOBE JCT once and using a detour route” when traveling toward Hitachinaka and Oarai. Specifically, he mentioned two routes: get off at the Hitachi Minami-Ota IC and follow Route 293 and Route 245, or get off at the Tokai Smart IC and follow Prefectural Route 62 and Route 245. He said that getting off at the Mito IC or Naka IC would be effective in avoiding traffic congestion on the general roads as well, so getting off further ahead would be effective in avoiding traffic congestion.
On the other hand, on the Aqua-Line, traffic congestion in the tunnel is expected to extend to the Metropolitan Expressway Bayshore Route, reaching the Shinonome JCT area on the 3rd and the Rinkai Fukutoshin entrance area on the 4th. Both will be driven at speeds of 6 to 7 km/h, and it is expected to take more than three hours to get through the congestion. Since there is a strong possibility that passengers using the Haneda Airport before the Aqua-Line will also be caught in the traffic, it is recommended to use the Haneda Line Airport West Exit when heading to the airport from the city center.
Please note that the holiday discount does not apply from April 29 to May 7, as it does throughout GW.
© Source travel watch
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