Over the past decade the traffic congestion on the Tokyo Metropolitan Expressways has been desperate. Recently the Metropolitan Expressway Public Corp. has been strongly urged to take possible measures to mitigate daily traffic jams. Measures include both of the short-term and long-term construction projects as well as the traffic control systems. The cause of today's traffic congestion is believed to be mainly associated with the deficiency of circular routes in the present expressway network. Thus, the resolution depends on the feasibility of the construction of new circular expressway routes through the heavily populated residential area so as to connect the radial expressways one to another, which in turn requires the unprecedented long urban tunnels to lessen the environmental pollution. Short-term construction projects encompass the construction of bypass routes, additional exit ramps, and the widening of expressway sections. With all these measures, the capacity of metropolitan expressway network would be doubled or tripled. Japanese Ministry of Construction and OECD/Road Transport Research Programme held the seminar on "future road transport systems and infrastructures in urban areas" in Chiba, Japan on 4th - 6th June 1991 sponsored by the Japanese organizing committee.
Samenvatting