NEXCO EAST Tohoku Regional Head Office (Sendai Aoba-ku, Regional Head Office length: Kumagai, Kazuo) in relates to snow and ice protection situation and the winter of transportation securing of this winter, let you know that it has compiled about the situation until the end of January this year.

This winter is warmer than usual, but the Expressway the Tohoku region may experience sudden changes in the weather and snow with strong winds.

Our company is available 24 hours a day to deal with this situation, but please make sure your customers are fully equipped with winter equipment and drive safely on snowy roads.

1 Snowfall situation this winter

On the Expressway the Tohoku region this winter, the area around Gassan IC, which had the most snowfall until the end of January, was about 6m, which was about 30% of the previous year. Of 17 main points in the jurisdiction The average amount of snowfall is about 2.0m, which is about half the normal value (average for the past 5 years). It is about 40% of the amount of snowfall compared to the last winter season named "2006 heavy snowfall".

2 Traffic closure status

Compared with the situation of last winter when it was a heavy snowfall, Road closure due to snow this winter ^*1 Is about 10% of last winter by the end of January have become. This is a small situation (about 15%) compared to the normal value.

*1 The amount of road closure is an index that indicates the degree of road closure obtained by multiplying the extension of road closure by time. [PDF: 272KB]

3 Accidents and road closures

As for the characteristics of road closure due to snow this winter, 90% of all road closures are due to traffic accidents that occurred at the beginning of snowfall. It is thought that this was because a lot of road conditions suddenly changed due to the effects of a little snow this winter, and many accidents occurred due to unfamiliarity with driving on snowy roads. For this reason, it seems necessary to drive more carefully than usual when it snows.

4 warm refresh Expressway

We will continue to develop rest facilities based on customer needs and regional characteristics, but from this winter, we will use Expressway more comfortably in winter. Toilet seats for all rest facilities are heated It was made. Also, The Iwateyama service area is fully equipped with a toilet seat for warm water washing, and the toilet is hot water We have improved the service, such as, and opened a refresh. The number of resting facilities where you can use Expressway in winter more comfortably is increasing.

5 Make information easier to understand for customers

In order to have you drive safely and comfortably on the Expressway winter, as snow road information of the Expressway when going out Providing "Expressway snow road information" on mobile phones and websites doing.

In addition to road information, we also provide live camera image information that shows SA and PA weather and snowfall conditions. We also provide a still image that shows the road condition of Expressway, so please use it as useful information when you go out for leisure, homecoming, work, etc.

6 Requests to Customers for the End of Winter

It tends to be mild winter, but it will continue to On Expressway Tohoku region, the weather may change suddenly and snow with strong winds may fall. Also, if you continue to drive without wearing winter equipment, it may be closed due to an accident or inability to drive like this winter.

By all means Fully equipped with winter equipment such as winter tires and tire chains, driving at a safe speed Please keep in mind