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International E-road network

Approximate extent of the completed motorway network in Europe as of May 2014

The international E-road network is a numbering system for roads in Europe developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The network is numbered from E1 up and its roads cross national borders. It also reaches Central Asian countries like Kyrgyzstan, since they are members of the UNECE.

Main international traffic arteries in Europe are defined by ECE/TRANS/SC.1/2016/3/Rev.1 which consider three types of roads: motorways, limited access roads, and ordinary roads.

In most countries, the roads carry the European route designation alongside national designations. Belgium, Norway and Sweden have roads which only have the European route designations (examples: E18 and E6). The United Kingdom, Albania and the Asian part of Russia only use national road designations and do not show the European designations at all. All route numbers in Andorra are unsigned. Denmark only uses the European designations on signage, but also has formal names for every motorway (or part of such), by which the motorways are referred to, for instance in news and weather forecasts. In Asia, Turkey and Russia show the European designations on signage; this is not the case in many other Asian countries.

Other continents have similar international road networks, e.g., the Pan-American Highway in the Americas, the Trans-African Highway network, and the Asian Highway Network.

History

E3 in Denmark, before 1992: Changed to E45; the number E3 was re-attributed.

UNECE was formed in 1947, and their first major act to improve transport was a joint UN declaration no. 1264, the Declaration on the Construction of Main International Traffic Arteries,[1][2] signed in Geneva on 16 September 1950, which defined the first E-road network. Originally it was envisaged that the E-road network would be a motorway system comparable to the US Interstate Highway System.[3] The declaration was amended several times until 15 November 1975, when it was replaced by the European Agreement on Main International Traffic Arteries or "AGR",[4] which set up a route numbering system and improved standards for roads in the list. The AGR last went through a major change in 1992 and in 2001 was extended into Central Asia to include the Caucasus nations.[3] There were several minor revisions since, last in 2008 (as of 2009).

Numbering system

Intersection of E42 and E451 near Frankfurt Airport

The route numbering system is as follows:[4]

Exceptions

The European route E45 near Cassino, Italy

In the first established and approved version, the road numbers were well ordered. Since then a number of exceptions to this principle have been allowed.

Two Class-A roads, E6 and E4 were originally scheduled to be renamed into E47 and E55, respectively. However, since Sweden and Norway have integrated the E-roads into their national networks, signposted as E6 and E4 throughout, a decision was made to keep the pre-1992 numbers for the roads in those two countries. These exceptions were granted because of the excessive expense connected with re-signing not only the long routes themselves, but also the associated road network in the area. The new numbers are, however, used from Denmark and southward, though, as do other European routes within Scandinavia. These two roads are the most conspicuous exceptions to the rule that even numbers signify west–east E-roads.

Further exceptions are:

These irregularities exist just because it is hard to maintain good order when extending the network, and the UNECE want to avoid changing road numbers.

Because the Socialist People's Republic of Albania refused to participate in international treaties such as the AGR, it was conspicuously excluded from the route scheme, with E65 and E90 making noticeable detours to go around it. In the 1990s, Albania opened up to the rest of Europe, but only ratified the AGR in August 2006, so its integration into the E-road network remains weak.

Signage

Where the European routes are signed, green signs with white numbers are used.

The E201 in Ireland

There are different strategies for determining how frequently to signpost the roads.

Road design standards

The following design standards should be applied to Euroroutes unless there are exceptional circumstances (such as mountain passes etc.):[4]

These requirements are meant to be followed for road construction. When new E-roads have been added these requirements have not been followed stringently. For example, the E45 in Sweden, added in 2006, has long parts with 6 m (20 ft) width or the E22 in eastern Europe forcing drivers to slow down to 30 km/h (20 mph) by taking the route through villages. In Norway, parts of the E10 are 5 m (16 ft) wide and in Central Asia even some gravel roads have been included.

Cultural significance

In Belgium, for example, motorway E-numbers have taken on the same kind of persistent cultural integration and significance as M-numbers in the UK, or Interstate numbers in the United States. Local businesses will refer to, or even incorporate the road designator in their business name. The annual road cycling race "E3 Harelbeke" takes part of its name from the former E3 (the part between Antwerp and Lille was renamed E17 in 1992). The same applies to the retail chain "E5-mode" (E5-fashion) that started with shops easily accessible from the former E5 (renamed E40 in 1992).

In Sweden, the ice hockey games between HV71 from Jönköping and Linköping HC from Linköping have come to be called "the E4-derby".[7] It's about 130 km between the cities, and they are situated in different provinces and counties, so the "derby" denomination is really far fetched, and it's often joked about that HV71's meetings with the teams from Stockholm or even as far north as Luleå would be an "E4 derby" just as much.

In Norway, the band D.D.E. released a song named after E6.

List of roads

Notes to the listings

In the road listings below,[4] a dash ('–') indicates a land road connection between two towns/cities—the normal case—while an ellipsis ('...') denotes a stretch across water. Not all such places are connected by ferry, and operating ferry connections are usually run by private companies without support from the respective governments, i.e. they may cease operating at any time.

A Class roads

The E-road network in Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan. However, the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan is closed due to strained relations between the two countries.
The E-road network in Belarus
The E-road network in Belgium
The E-road network in Bulgaria
Main and E-roads in Estonia
The E-road network in Finland
The E-road network in Georgia
The E-road network in Germany
The main E-road network in Hungary
The E-road network in Italy
The E-road network in Lithuania
The E-road network in the Netherlands
The E-road network in Poland
The E-road network in Romania
The E-road network in Turkey
The E-road network in the United Kingdom and Ireland
The E-road network in Ukraine

North–South reference

West–East reference

North–South intermediate

West–East intermediate

B Class roads

Records

An aerial view of the European route E12 between the cities of Tampere and Helsinki in Finland

Historical numbering

These were the historical roads before 1975:

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Still in the list despite entirely dublicating south part of E115.

References

  1. ^ "Declaration on the Construction of Main International Traffic Arteries, signed at Geneva" (PDF). United Nations - Treaty Series. 16 September 1950. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
  2. ^ "Declaration on the Construction of Main International Traffic Arteries, signed at Geneva" (PDF). United Nations - Treaty Series. 16 September 1950. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  3. ^ a b "E-Roads". Archived from the original on 3 March 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d "European Agreement on Main International Traffic Arteries" (PDF). United Nations Economic and Social Council. 14 March 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 January 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
  5. ^ "2. Directional Information Signs" (PDF). Traffic Signs Manual 2010. Ireland: Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. November 2010. §§2.3.34–36, 2.4.108, 2.4.116, 2.5.87. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 June 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  6. ^ "Statutory Instrument 2002 No. 3113: The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002". HMSO. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
  7. ^ "Ishockey: Linköping vann E4-derby". 10 December 2016.

External links