東北自動車道
Planning for an expressway between the cities of Kitakami and Akita began in 1982. The first section of this expressway was opened on 25 July 1991 after nine years of planning and construction that cost 1.158 trillion yen (about 1 billion US dollars). It was a section of highway that linked Akita to Yokote. By 1994 the expressway was linked to the Tōhoku Expressway in Kitakami following the opening of Kitakami Junction. The next major connection to the expressway was its linkage to the Nihonkai-Tōhoku Expressway at Kawabe Junction in Akita on 23 July 1997.