This week we explored the “will it ever be completed?” agricultural highway that is slated to open the mountainous area of southern Boso to commercial traffic.
安房地域広域農道 or Awa Region Wide-Area Agricultural Road is a massive project that’s been built in short stretches since 1991 (35 years!) and it still isn’t done. But it’s not abandoned; the most recent section opened in 2023.
There are two roads on the plan – the north-south Awa Green Line was completed in 2010. It’s a 16 km span that spurs off Rte 88 near the Miyoshi Michi no Eki (farmer’s market) and runs south to the coast eventually connecting to the Boso Flower Line in Shirahama. It’s a wide, smooth, mostly straight road and we’ve driven along it many times. Mission accomplished; not that interesting. 18 billion yen well-spent.
But the East Line stretching through the mountains from coast to coast is a mix of useful roads and ruin. It’s got mysteries, frustrations, and plans gone askew.
This too, was begun in the 90s…and it’s been continuing for decades with no end in sight. Literally there is no plan for when or where the highway will end on the eastern side in Kamogawa
In 2023, the westernmost 3.5 km stretch opened between Namuya and Otsu near the coast in Minami-boso. The last thing built in this section was Tunnel #1, an underpass below the JR Sotobo line.
The East Line starts without any fanfare. Just turn onto the unsigned road from Rt 127 and you’ll soon be cruising under the train tracks and through three more tunnels.
And moments later, you aren’t on the Agricultural Highway any more. The road looks like it continues – but there are barricades to slow you down across Rt 185 and soon the East Line narrows into a tiny country road through a village.
Here’s the first complication. The road stops and Tunnel #5 isn’t built because nobody can determine who owns the land, exactly. And there’s a stream in the way and some historical things near the path of progress. Rerouting studies are underway for this section. It’s not going as planned.
If you go for a walk up from the village (or look on Google Maps) you can see that something was happening at one point; the guard rails in the forest give it away. But this shadow of a road dead ends in less than 2 km at a gated tunnel.
Tunnel #6 (Higashi Nakaozawa Tunnel) was finished in 2000. And it sits there patiently waiting for someone to figure out the deeds and build the connecting road.
Over the intervening 26 years, it’s gone through some phases. Graffiti artists took it over as a canvas in 2009 and in 2020 it looked like a rave happened out there. But a visit today showed that the art has all been covered over (artfully!), the abandoned stereo equipment removed, and some repair marks chalked into the algae.
In addition to the 2023 westernmost section, the only other drivable portion of the East Line is at the exit from Tunnel #6. It’s about 500 meters of road plus Tunnel #7 which was completed in 2006. This part connects to Rt 88 near Ikeda village.
After that, the plans for the Agricultural Highway get murky. Documents indicate the road will pass through 7 specific districts crossing main roads. This does point loosely to a path but with a big ? to be answered.
The question is “How are they going to get over/under the Mineoka Range between Rt 89 and Rt 34?” I’ll bet this is a large hurdle under much discussion. So much sucking of teeth.
Also, at the map pin above, we discovered there is one more short section of road already finished! Three bridges marked with completion dates of 1998, 2003, and 2006. At the end of the 750 meter road, it seems a logging company is preparing firewood for sale.
The price tag on the East Line was 13.541 billion yen ($84 million) in FY19. With delays, economic pressures over the past half decade, and so much of the road still being planned, the price is likely to rise – costing the joint venture between the federal and prefectural governments even more. It is a lot of money for something that is happening in a depopulating area. Will transportation easier make the region more appealing to businesses? Will it help to repopulate us with an influx of new residents?
I don’t know, but the wheels of bureaucracy grind away to complete projects. Maybe someday we’ll drive the full length of the Awa Region Wide-Area Agricultural Road (East Line) and remember our adventures today.
