Breaking: Major Accident on Keiji Bypass Causes Temporary Closure, Now Reopened. What’s the Situation at Gusto and Local Service Stations?

Things were a bit chaotic this morning on the Keiji Bypass. Right around the start of peak hour, it seems there was an accident involving a large truck and a car. The incident was in the section between Kumiyama and Kusatsu. I got a message from a mate saying, “It’s absolutely banked up,” and I thought for sure the congestion would last all day.

Major road closures in place for a while after the accident

It looks like the inbound lanes from Kyoto-Minami IC to Kusatsu-Tanakami IC were completely closed for a fair while to allow for investigations. The accident must have been significant—I heard there was even a chopper overhead taking footage. But by the afternoon, the scene was cleared and the closure was lifted. It’s a small mercy it didn’t drag on into the night, thanks to the police and fire crews working quickly to sort it all out.

Still, traffic in that area is heavy even on a normal weekday, so delays lingered for a while even after it reopened. The flow always gets clogged around Gusto Keiji Bypass, and with today’s accident, the queue stretched back even further than usual, from what I hear.

How are the local “fuel havens” holding up?

In these situations, drivers are always worried about running out of fuel or finding a spot to use the loo. If you drive the Keiji Bypass regularly, these are the key spots to keep in mind.

• apollostation Keiji Bypass Kusatsu SS (West Japan Usami): This one’s on the left if you’re heading towards Kusatsu, so it takes a bit of planning to use it from the inbound lanes. It’s a full-service spot with fuel and car washes, so it’s popular with locals and a destination for drivers coming from further out.
• ENEOS EneJet Self-Service Station Keiji Bypass (Ito Yu Co., Ltd.): This one is on the outbound side, a 24-hour self-service station. It copped a fair bit of traffic this morning with cars diverted because of the accident, but it seems to be back to business as usual now.

We often just drive past these two, but they’re an absolute lifeline when you need them. Having apollostation and ENEOS in that section is a huge relief when something unexpected like today’s accident happens.

What about Gusto, a driver’s go-to rest stop?

And then there’s Gusto Keiji Bypass, pretty much the only proper “rest stop” in the area. During the road closure, quite a few drivers apparently waited it out there. Someone who drove past said the car park was almost full in the morning, with a queue out the door. It seems to have settled down by the evening, but I reckon plenty of people were making the most of the drink bar and taking their time today.

The Keiji Bypass doesn’t have many alternative routes or “secret shortcuts,” so when an accident happens, the whole area grinds to a halt. I heard that nearby National Route 1 and the prefectural roads were also chockers this morning with cars diverting off the bypass. It would have been a real pain for locals.

Latest traffic updates and what to expect

I’ve heard from people in the know that the damaged vehicles have now been removed. There are no current restrictions at the various Keiji Bypass interchanges either. However, I understand they still have to inspect the road surface and wrap up some fine details from the investigation. So if you’re travelling through tonight, it’s probably best to ease off the accelerator around Gusto and the merge points at the interchanges, and keep a close eye on what other drivers are doing.

Also, service stations tend to get slammed on days like this, so expect both apollostation Keiji Bypass Kusatsu SS and ENEOS EneJet to be busy tonight with the evening fuel rush. If you can be flexible, it might be a smarter move to go early tomorrow morning or late at night.

A big shout-out to the police, fire crews, and the expressway company staff who were on the scene today—you’ve earned a rest. Hopefully, anyone caught up in the accident is doing okay.