First building with a highway through the middle

The first building to be purpose-designed with a high-speed road highway through the middle is the 71.9-m-high (236-ft), 16-storey Gate Tower in Osaka, Japan, where the Umeda exit of the Hanshin Expressway passes through the middle of floors five to seven. This unique arrangement allows both an office building and a roadway to use the same urban site. Completed in 1992, the building does not touch the pier-supported roadway, and has additional insulation to minimize vibration. Internal elevators pass from floor 4 to floor 8 without stopping.