NEXCO CENTRAL Nagoya Branch held an event at Okazaki SA to mark the 10th anniversary of the opening of the New Tomei Expressway section between Hamamatsu Inasa JCT and Toyota Higashi JCT. The event introduced the effects of the approximately 55-km section, visitor numbers and the results of road development.
On 13 February 2026, NEXCO CENTRAL Nagoya Branch held an anniversary event at Okazaki SA marking the 10th anniversary of the opening of the New Tomei Expressway section. The event featured a panel exhibition on the 10th anniversary and an exhibit of a road patrol vehicle, and distributed novelty items. Approximately 350 people attended.
The section connects Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, with Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, over approximately 55 km. It is said to have reduced congestion volume by 89% when combined with the Tomei Expressway, while the number of accidents fell by 34%. It was also reported that the value of manufactured goods shipped from areas along the route increased by approximately 1.4 times.
As part of efforts to achieve automated driving, a vehicle-infrastructure cooperation demonstration was conducted on a section of the New Tomei Expressway under construction in 2024. A demonstration using an automated-vehicle priority lane is currently under way between Suruga Bay Numazu SA and Hamamatsu SA in cooperation with relevant government ministries and agencies.
Related articles have reported continuing initiatives in this field, including verification of natural-mineral-water transport using automated driving and Japan’s longest automated-driving demonstration.