"[3] The expressway is an important route connecting the greater Tokyo area with Mito, the capital of Ibaraki Prefecture.

Beyond Mito, the expressway follows a northerly route along the coast of the Pacific Ocean to the city of Iwaki in Fukushima Prefecture.

For most of its length the expressway parallels National Route 6 and the Jōban Line of East Japan Railway Company.

On a 14.3 km (8.9 mi) of the expressway opened on 1 March 2015, signs update drivers about what the radiation level is in the impacted area.

[7] During the 13 February 2021 Fukushima earthquake, landslides buried parts of the expressway, and embankments along it collapsed; however, no vehicles were trapped inside the debris.