The Inner Circular Route(都心環状線, Toshin Kanjō-sen), signed as Route C1, is one of the routes of the Shuto Expressway system serving the central part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The route is a complete loop around the central Tokyo wards of Chiyoda, Chūō, and Minato, with a total length of 14.8 kilometers (9.2 mi). In addition to serving areas of central Tokyo, the Inner Circular Route also serves as the origin of the radial routes of the Shuto Expressway. A section of the expressway is built above the Shibuya River.

History

The expressway was built between 1962 and 1967, partly in preparation for the 1964 Summer Olympics. In 2009, Tokyo private industries proposed funding a project to dismantle the elevated expressway and put them underground.

In May 2020, the Shuto Expressway Company received approval for plans to relocate 1.8 kilometers of the expressway underground between Kandabashi and Edobashi Junctions, in the area surrounding Nihonbashi Bridge as part of larger project to redevelop the financial district. Construction commenced with the permanent closure of the Edobashi and Gofukubashi entrance and exit ramps on 10 May 2021. Construction on the replacement tunnel is expected to be completed in 2035, making way for the removal of the bridge planned to be completed in 2040.

List of interchanges

List of interchanges ordered clockwise beginning with Edobashi Junction. The entire expressway is in Tokyo.

LocationkmmiExitNameDestinationsNotes
Chūō0.00.0EdobashiUeno Route north – Ueno Mukojima Route north – Narita, Bayshore Route, Fukagawa Route, Tōhoku Expressway, Keiyō RoadClockwise entrance, counterclockwise exit; distance posts reset to zero, eastern terminus of AH1
0.80.5011TakarachōYaesu-dōriClockwise exit, counterclockwise entrance
1.00.62KyōbashiSpur route to Tokyo ExpresswayClockwise exit, counterclockwise entrance
1.60.9912KyōbashiKajibashi-dōri – Kyōbashi, EitaibashiClockwise entrance, counterclockwise exit
1.7– 1.91.1– 1.213/14ShintomichōTokyo Metropolitan Route 50 (Shin-Ōhashi-dōri) – Shin-Ōhashi, Tsukuda, ShiodomeExit only
2.0– 2.51.2– 1.615/16GinzaGinchū-dōri
3.22.018ShiodomeKaigan-dōri – ShinbashiClockwise entrance, counterclockwise exit
3.42.1ShiodomeYaesu Route north – Kita-Ikebukuro, Shin-KyōbashiClockwise entrance, counterclockwise exit
Minato4.32.7HamazakibashiHaneda Route south – Haneda, Bayshore Route, Yokohane Route, Daiba Route, Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line, Higashi-Kantō Expressway
5.2– 5.73.2– 3.519/20Shiba-kōenTokyo Metropolitan Route 319 – to National Route 1, Hibiya, Roppongi, Kanasugi Bridge, Shinagawa
6.64.1IchinohashiMeguro Route south – Meguro, Togoshi
7.24.521IikuraTokyo Metropolitan Route 415 (Azabu-dōri) – Roppongi
7.84.8TanimachiShibuya Route west – to Tōmei Expressway, ShibuyaClockwise beginning of AH1 concurrency
Chiyoda8.8– 9.25.5– 5.723/24KasumigasekiTokyo Metropolitan Route 415 (Roppongi-dōri) – Hibiya, Hanzōmon, Nagatachō
10.26.3MiyakezakaShinjuku Route west – to Chūō Expressway, Shinjuku
11.67.225DaikanchōUchibori-dōri – Kitanomaru ParkClockwise exit, counterclockwise entrance
12.07.526KitanomaruUchibori-dōri – HitotsubashiClockwise entrance, counterclockwise exit
12.37.6TakebashiIkebukuro Route north – Ōmiya, Kita-Ikebukuro
12.9– 13.28.0– 8.228/29KandabashiHibiya-dōri – Ōtemachi
13.38.3KandabashiYaesu Route south – Marunouchi, ShinbashiClockwise exit, counterclockwise entrance
Chūō14.08.730GofukubashiTokyo Metropolitan Route 405 (Sotobori-dōri) – Tokyo StationClosed on 10 May 2021 Clockwise entrance, counterclockwise exit
14.28.831EdobashiTokyo Metropolitan Route 316 (Shōwa-dōri)Closed on 10 May 2021' Clockwise exit, counterclockwise entrance
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Closed/formerConcurrency terminusIncomplete access