Hanshin Expressway – The expressway that crosses a building

Do you know the Japanese expressway called Hanshin Expressway? Did you know that this road even passes through a building on the fifth and seventh floors? In this article, we will learn about the famous road that crosses the Gate Tower Building in Osaka.

The Hanshin Expressway (阪神高速道路) in Japanese is called Hanshin Kousoku-douro and crosses the cities of Osaka, Kobe, and Kyoto over a total of 239 kilometers. The road was inaugurated in 1962, connecting various important routes in Kansai.

Before we talk about the famous case of the highway that goes through a building, let’s learn a little about the highway and the routes it connects.

Routes of the Hanshin Expressway

The Hanshin Expressway connects with the following routes:

• 1 – Loop Route (Central Osaka)
• 2 – Yodogawa Sagan Route (Hokko-kita – Universal Studios Japan)
• 3 – Kobe Route (Nishi-nagahori – Amagasaki – Nishinomiya – Kobe)
• 4 – Wangan Route (Osakako – Rinku Town, Kansai Airport)
• 5 – Wangan Route (Osakako – Rokko Island)
• 7 – Kita Kobe Route (Igawa – Shirakawa – Arima – Nishinomiya-yamaguchi)
• 8 – Kyoto Route (Fushimi-ku, Kyoto)
• 11 – Ikeda Route (Umeda – Toyonaka – Osaka Airport – Kawanishi – Ikeda)
• 12 – Moriguchi Route (Kitahama – Moriguchi)
• 13 – Higashi Osaka Route (Central Osaka – Higashi-osaka)
• 14 – Matsubara Route (Namba – Hirano – Matsubara)
• 15 – Sakai Route (Sumiyoshi – Suminoe – Sakai)
• 16 – Osakako Route (Nishi-nagahori – Osakako)
• 17 – Nishi Osaka Route (Bentencho – Sumiyoshi)
• 31 – Kobe Yamate Route (Kobe – Shirakawa)

The Story of the Gate Tower Building with the Hanshin Expressway

In the mid-1980s, Osaka was adding ramps to the Hanshin Expressway, but there was a plot of land whose owners refused to give up an inch. They had a plan to build a building on the site.

After 5 years of negotiation, they reached a solution to build the building next to the Hanshin Expressway. The building was constructed with a total of 16 floors, and the Hanshin Expressway passes over the building from the 5th to the 7th floors.

The Gate Tower Building is also known as BeeHive and is located in Fukushima-ku, a city in Osaka (not the tsunami city). The building belongs to Suezawa Sangyo Co. Ltd and was designed by Azusa Sekkei Co. Ltd and built by Sato Kogyo in 1992.

This case led to a law that was passed in 1989 allowing the construction of highways and buildings in the same space. Some may think this is common, but it is very rare, and most highways are built underground.

The highway that passes between the buildings does not make any contact with the location; there are only stairs and elevators that go directly to the eighth floor. The structures are made to protect against noise and vibrations, built with reinforced concrete and steel.

Did you know about the highway that crosses a building? Do you know of others? I hope you enjoyed this short article, and we hope you share and leave your comments. Thank you and see you next time!