A road expansion plan was determined in 1946 according to the Urban Planning Law. The road was a tributary of the circular road No.2 starting at Toranomon and heading to Shinbashi with the width of 100m. The road was nicknamed General McArthur road because it runs in front of the US embassy which was in charge of the occupation of Japan at the time.
But the plan was fiercely opposed by the residents in the area and had never been carried out for decades.
In recent years, as the waterfront area of Koto ward and the vast vacant area of Shiodome were developed on a large scale, the road connecting these areas to the center of Tokyo has become an important subject.
The road planners started again to persuade the residents to accept the road expansion. They proposed that the road would be constructed by the technique of urban redevelopment which would enable the residents stay in the area. They also proposed to reduce the width of the road to 40m and make it into the underground road with buildings on it. The residents could live in the buildings.
The residents accepted this proposal and the plan eventually started.
One day in 2005, I walked in the area from Toranomon to Shinbashi. The land purchase has been under enforcement for recent several years, and many vacant lots emerged here and there in the area. I was impressed that the construction of the new road is coming soon.
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