The International E-road network is a numbering system for roads in Europe, Central Asia and Asia Minor, developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The network is numbered from E1 up and signposted on a green background. Its roads cross national borders, consisting of three types of roads: highways, limited access roads, and ordinary roads (as defined by ECE/TRANS/SC.1/2016/3/Rev.1).

The display of European roads on signs depend on jurisdiction. In most countries, the roads carry the European route designation alongside national designations. However, Belgium, Denmark, Norway and Sweden have integrated them as their sole route designations (examples: E18 and E6) in most cases. Some places, such as the United Kingdom and Albania do not show the European designations at all.

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, 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 highway system comparable to the US Interstate Highway System.[citation needed] 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", 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.[citation needed] There were several minor revisions since, last in 2008 (as of 2009[update]).

Numbering system

Intersection of E42 and E451 near Frankfurt Airport

The route numbering system is as follows:

  • Reference roads and intermediate roads, called Class-A roads, have numbers from 1 to 129. North–south routes have odd numbers; east–west routes have even numbers. The two main exceptions are E4 and E6, both north–south routes. The allocation of numbers progresses upwards from west to east and from north to south, with some exceptions.
  • Branch, link and connecting roads, called Class-B roads, have three-digit numbers above 130.
  • Reference roads are roads numbered 5–95 ending with 0 or 5 or having odd numbers 101–129. They generally go across Europe and are usually several thousand kilometres long. North–south reference roads have numbers that end with the digit 5 from 5 to 95, or odd numbers from 101 to 129, increasing from west to east. East-west reference roads have two-digit numbers that end with the digit 0, increasing from north to south.
  • Intermediate roads are roads numbered 1 to 99 that are not reference roads. They are usually considerably shorter than the reference roads. They have numbers between those of the reference roads between which they are located. Like reference roads, north–south intermediate roads have odd numbers; east–west roads have even numbers.
  • Class-B roads have three-digit numbers: the first digit is that of the nearest reference road to the north, the second digit is that of the nearest reference road to the west, and the third digit is a serial number.
  • North–south Class-A roads located eastwards of road E99 have three-digit odd numbers from 101 to 129. Other rules for Class-A roads above apply to these roads.
  • Class-B roads located eastwards of E101 have 3-digit numbers beginning with 0, from 001 to 099.

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:

  • E67, going from Finland to the Czech Republic (wrong side of E75 and E77), assigned around year 2000, simply because it was best available number for this new route.
  • Most of E63 in Finland (wrong side of E75)
  • Part of E8 in Finland on the wrong side of E12 after a lengthening around 2002
  • E82 (Spain and Portugal, wrong side of E80).

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.

  • Sweden, Norway and Denmark have integrated the E-road numbers into their networks, meaning that the roads usually have no other national number.
  • In Belgium, E-numbers are traditionally associated with highways, even though other grade E-roads pass through the country. As a result, the E-number is signposted (and referred to) only on the highway portions of the E-road network, while for non-motorways only the national number (if any) is shown. On the highway portions of the E-network, the E-numbers are the standard and thus referred to in news bulletins rather than the national number. Serbia and Italy have a similar principle.
  • In most countries the E-roads form a network on top of the national network. The green signs are frequent enough to show how to follow the roads, but do not usually show how to reach them.
  • In some countries, like Croatia, Bulgaria and Albania, E-roads are well signposted, but they sometimes follow older routes instead of highways.
  • In some countries, like Germany, Italy and Greece, E-roads are signposted only on motorways and main road itineraries.
  • In Ireland the signposting of E-roads is specified in Chapter 2 of the 2010 Traffic Signs Manual published by the Department of Transport, and specifies that E-roads are to be signed on route confirmation signs only. The first E-road numbers were signed in July 2007 on the N11 bypass in Gorey. Since then they have gradually spread across the E-road network in Ireland.
  • In a few European countries such as the United Kingdom, Albania, and many Asian countries such as Uzbekistan, the E-roads are not signposted at all.

Road design standards

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

  • Built-up areas shall be by-passed if they constitute a hindrance or a danger.
  • The roads should preferably be highways or express roads (unless traffic density is low so that there is no congestion on an ordinary road).
  • They should be homogeneous and be designed for at least 80 km/h (50 mph) (see Design speed). The highways should be at least 100 km/h (60 mph).
  • Gradients should not exceed 8% on roads designed for 80 km/h (50 mph), decreasing to 4% on roads designed for 120 km/h (75 mph) traffic.
  • The radius of curved sections of road should be a minimum of 120 m (390 ft) on roads designed for 60 km/h (35 mph) rising to 1,000 m (3,300 ft) on roads designed for 140 km/h (85 mph).
  • "Stopping distance visibility" should be at least 70 m (230 ft) on roads designed for 60 km/h (35 mph), rising to 300 m (980 ft) on roads designed for 140 km/h (85 mph).
  • Lane width should be at least 3.5 m (11 ft) on straight sections of road. This guarantees adequate clearance for any vehicle having a superstructure of width 2.5 m (8.2 ft) which is the maximum specified width in Directive 2002/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council which recognize some specific tolerances for some specific countries.
  • The shoulder is recommended to be at least 2.5 m (8.2 ft) on ordinary roads and 3.25 m (10.7 ft) on highways.
  • Central reservations should be at least 3 m (9.8 ft) unless there is a barrier between the two carriageways.
  • Overhead clearance should be not less than 4.5 m (15 ft).
  • Railway intersections should be at different levels.

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". 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, 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

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
  • E80, together with Asian Highway 1, crosses all of Europe and Asia, linking Lisbon with Tokyo.
  • The longest E-road is E40, which is more than 8,500 km (5,300 mi) long, connecting France with Kazakhstan.
  • The shortest E-road is E844, 22 km (14 mi), in the Italian region of Calabria
  • Northernmost is E69, North Cape, Norway, 71°10' N
  • Westernmost is E1, Lisbon, Portugal, 9°10' W
  • Southernmost is E75, Crete, Greece, 35°6' N
  • Easternmost is E127, Maykapshagay, Kazakhstan, 85°36' E
  • The highest E-road is E008 which reaches 4,272 m (14,016 ft) altitude in the Pamir Mountains in Tajikistan.
  • The highest E-road in Europe is E62 reaching 2,005 m (6,578 ft) at the Simplon Pass, Switzerland.
  • The lowest E-road is E39 which reaches 262 m (860 ft) below sea level in the Bømlafjord Tunnel, Norway.
  • The longest bridge on an E-road is the Crimean Bridge on E97 which is 16,900 metres (55,400 ft).
  • The longest tunnel on an E-road is the Lærdal Tunnel (in Norway) on E16 which is 24,510 metres (80,410 ft), the longest road tunnel in the world. As of 2015[update] E16 includes 60 tunnels, covering about 15% of the road's 630 km (391 mi) within Norway.
  • The E39 includes 9 ferry crossings.
  • The E39 includes 90 tunnels, 6% of the road's 1,140 km (708 mi) within Norway.

Historical numbering

These were the historical roads before 1975:

NumberStartviaEnd
E1London– Southampton – Le Havre – ParisLyonNice – Ventimiglia – Genoa – La Spezia – Pisa – Livorno – RomeNaples – Salerno – Reggio di Calabria – Messina –Palermo
E2London– Dover – Calais – Reims – Dijon – Dole – Lausanne – Simplon – Milan – Parma – Modena – Bologna – Ancona – Foggia – BariBrindisi
E3Lisbon– Salamanca – San Sebastián – Bordeaux – Paris – Lille – Gent – Antwerp – Eindhoven – Venlo – Oberhausen – Bielefeld – Hanover – Hamburg – Flensburg – Kolding – Frederikshavn – Gothenburg – Arboga –Stockholm
E4Lisbon– Elvas – Mérida – Madrid – Zaragoza – Barcelona – Nîmes – Chambéry – Genf – Lausanne – Bern – Basel – Karlsruhe – Frankfurt (Main) – Kassel – Göttingen – Hanover – Hamburg – Lübeck – Fehmarn – Vordingborg – Copenhagen – Helsingør – Helsingborg – Jönköping – StockholmUppsala – Sundsvall – Umeå – Tornio – Lahti –Helsinki
E5London– Dover – Calais – Gent – Brussels – Liège – CologneFrankfurt (Main) – Würzburg – Nuremberg – Passau – Linz – Melk – Vienna – Nickelsdorf – Győr – Budapest – Szeged – BelgradeGevgelijaThessalonikiAlexandroupolis – Peplos – Ipsala – Silivri – Istanbul – İzmit – Bolu – Ankara – Aksaray – Adana – İskenderun –Turkey/Syria border
E6Rome– Florence – Bologna – Modena – Verona – Trento – BrennerInnsbruck – Griesen – Munich – Nuremberg – Hof – LeipzigBerlin – Stralsund – Sassnitz – Trelleborg – Malmö – Helsingborg – Gothenburg – Svinesund – Oslo – Hamar – Otta – Trondheim – Mo i Rana – AltaKirkenes
E7Rome– Perugia – Forlì – Bologna – Ferrara – Padua – Mestre – Cervignano – Udine – Villach – Bruck an der MurViennaBrno – Český Těšín – KrakówWarsaw
E8London– Harwich – Hook of Holland – The Hague – Utrecht – Osnabrück – Hanover – Magdeburg – Berlin – Poznan – Krośniewice – WarsawPoland/USSR border
E9Amsterdam– Maastricht – Liège – Arlon – Luxembourg – Metz – Strasbourg – Mulhouse – Basel – Olten – Luzern – Andermatt – (Gotthard) – Lugano – Chiasso – Como – Milan – Tortona –Genoa
E10Paris– Cambrai – BrusselsAntwerpRotterdamThe HagueAmsterdam
E11Paris– Saint-Dizier – Nancy – Strasbourg – Karlsruhe – StuttgartMunichSalzburg
E12Paris– Metz – Saarbrücken – Mannheim – Nuremberg – Plzeň – Prague – Náchod – Kłodzko – ŁódźWarsaw – Białystok –Moscow
E13Lyon– Modena – Turin – Milan – Brescia – Verona – Padua –Venice
E14Trieste– Ronchi – Udine – Villach – Salzburg – Linz – Tábor – Prague – Jablonec –Szczecin
E15HamburgBerlinDresden – Zinnwald – PragueBrno – Břeclav – BratislavaBudapest
E16Bratislava– Český Těšín – Katowice – Łódź – GdańskGdynia
E17Chagny– Dijon – BaselZürich – Winterthur – St. Gallen – St. Margarethen – Innsbruck – Wörgl –Salzburg
E18Stavanger– Kristiansand – Larvik – Oslo – Karlstad – Arboga – Köping –Stockholm
E19Albania/Greece borderIoannina – Arta – Agrinio – Antirion – Rion –Corinth
E20Koritza– Vari – Edessa – Thessaloniki –Sofia
E21Aosta– Turin –Savona
E21aMartigny– Grosser St. Bernhard –Aosta
E21bGeneva– Bonneville – Mont-Blanc –Aosta
E22BerlinWrocław – Opole – Bytom – Kraków – Rzeszów – Przemyśl –Poland/USSR border
E23Ankara– Kirsehir – Kayseri – Sivas – Erzincan – Erzurum – Agri –Turkey/Iran border
E24Kömürler– Gaziantep – Urfa – Mardin – Cizre – Hakkari – Bajerge –Turkey/Iran border
E25Burgos– Madrid – Bailén – Sevilla – Cádiz –Algeciras
E26Barcelona– Tarragona – Castellón de la Plana – Valencia – Granada – Málaga –Algeciras
E31London– St. Albans – Northampton – Doncaster – Scotch Corner – Carlisle – Abington –Glasgow
E32AbingtonEdinburgh
E33Northampton– Coventry – Cannock – Warrington –Liverpool
E34Amsterdam– Cannock – Shrewsbury – Corwen –Holyhead
E35Amsterdam– Amersfoort – Zwolle – Groningen – Winschoten – Oldenburg –Hamburg
E36Hook of Holland– Rotterdam – Gouda – Utrecht – Arnhem – Oberhausen –Cologne
E37Breda– Gorinchem –Utrecht
E38BredaEindhoven
E39Antwerp– Heerlen –Aachen
E40Brussels– Namur –Bastogne
E41Calais– Valenciennes – Mons – Charleroi – Namur –Liège
E42Phalsbourg– Sarreguemines – Saarbrücken – Luxembourg – Echternach – Bitburg – Prüm – Euskirchen –Cologne
E43AvallonDijon
E44BelfortMulhouse
E45Dole– La Curs – La Faucille – Gex –Geneva
E46Lyon– Amberieu –Geneva
E47Aix-en-ProvenceMarseille
E48NîmesMarseille
E49Bordeaux– Toulouse –Narbonne
E50Coimbra– Porto – Vigo – A Coruña – Oviedo – Santander – Bilbao –San Sebastián
E51Albergaria a Velha– Viseu –Celorico da Beira
E52Vila Franca de Xira– Pegões – Beja – Vila Verde de Ficalho – Rosal de la Frontera –Sevilla
E53Turin– Asti – Alessandria –Tortona
E54CanteggioPiacenza
E55Pisa– Migliarino –Pistoia
E56Ponte-Garigliano– Caserta –Foggia
E57NaplesArienzo
E58BariTarent
E59MessinaSyracuse
E60ArthZürich
E61Bellinzona– San Bernardino – Chur – St. Margrethen – Bregenz – Lindau –Munich
E62Hof– Karl-Marx-Stadt – Leipzig – Halle –Magdeburg
E63Hamm– Kassel – Herleshausen – Erfurt – Karl-Marx-Stadt –Dresden
E64Berlin– Neubrandenburg – Rostock – Warnemünde – Gedser – Nykøbing – Vordingborg –Copenhagen
E65Lübeck– Rostock –Stralsund
E66Esbjerg– Kolding – Middelfart – Nyborg – Korsør – Copenhagen –Malmö
E67VejleMiddelfart
E68Bergen– Gudvangen – Laerdalsöyra – Nystua – Fagernes –Oslo
E69Ålesund– Åndalsnes –Dombås
E70Winterthur– Schaffhausen – Donaueschingen – Tübingen – Stuttgart – Heilbronn – Schwäbisch Hall – Würzburg – Fulda – Hersfeld –Herleshausen
E71Hanover– Bremen –Bremerhaven
E72Oldenzaal– Lingen –Bremen
E73CologneHamm
E74BerlinSzczecin
E75Stjördal– Storlien – Östersund –Sundsvall
E77FeldkirchBuchs
E78TornioKilpisjärvi
E79Vaasa– Tampere –Helsinki
E80Turku– Helsinki – Lappeenranta –Imatra
E81Gdańsk– Elbląg – Ostróda – Mława – Warsaw – Lublin –Poland/USSR border
E82Piotrków TrybunalskiWarsaw
E83Jelenia Gora– Wrocław – Poznań – Świecie –Grudziądz
E84Prague– Jihlava – Znojmo –Vienna
E85Olomouc– Žilina – Prešov – Košice –Romania/Bulgaria border
E86WörglRosenheim
E87Ioannina– Trikkala – Larissa –Volos
E88IoanninaPreveza
E89RionPatras
E90VeviKozani
E91CervignanoRonchi
E92Thessaloniki– Aghios Athanasios – Verria – Kozani – Larissa – Lamia – Athens – Corinth – Argos –Kalamai
E93Bruck an der Mur– Graz – Spielfeld – Sentilj – Maribor –Ljubljana
E94Klagenfurt– Loibltunnel – Ljubljana – Zagreb – Belgrad – Bela Crkva –Yugoslavia/Romania border
E95Nis– Dimitrovgrad –Yugoslavia/Bulgaria border
E96Rijeka– Zagreb – Čakovec – Donja Lendava –Yugoslavia/Hungary border
E97Bulgaria/Turkey border– Edirne – Büyükkarıştıran –Silivri
E98Kemerhisar– Niğde –Kayseri
E99Toprakkale– Kahramanmaraş – Malatya – Elazığ – Tunceli –Selepür
E101MadridValencia
E102MéridaLink with E52
E103Bailén– Granada – Motril –Málaga

See also

Notes

External links