The is a national expressway on the island of Honshū in Japan. It is operated by Central Nippon Expressway Company. The expressway is designated as E1 under the "2016 Proposal for Realization of Expressway Numbering", because it parallels National Route 1. It is a part of the Asian Highway Network.
Naming
The word Tōmei is an acronym consisting of two kanji characters. The first character refers to and the second refers to , which are the two major urban areas linked by the expressway.
Officially the expressway is designated as the First Tōkai Expressway. A second Tōkai Expressway (operating as the Shin-Tōmei Expressway) is under construction parallel to the existing route, and is intended to alleviate congestion problems
Overview
The Tōmei Expressway is an important roadway linking Tokyo and Nagoya. It is the most heavily travelled roadway operated by Central Nippon Expressway Company, with some sections used by more than 100,000 vehicles a day.
The first sections were opened to traffic in 1968 and the entire route was completed in 1969.