European_route_E4

European route E4

European route E4

Road in trans-European E-road network

European route E4 passes from north to south through Sweden from the border with Finland, with a total length of 1,590 kilometres (990 mi). The Finnish part lies entirely within Tornio in northern Finland, and is only 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) long.[1] The Swedish part traverses most of Sweden except the extreme north and the west coast region, and is commonly considered the highway backbone of Sweden, since it passes in the vicinity of many of its largest cities and through the capital Stockholm. In particular, it is the mainline road used by most vehicle traffic, both cars and lorries, between the north (Norrland) and south of Sweden or beyond.

Quick Facts E4, Route information ...
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From Haparanda on the Finnish border, it stretches south along the Gulf of Bothnia to Gävle, then on a more inland route southwards. It ends in Helsingborg in Sweden, at the port for the ferry to Helsingør in Denmark. The route intersects with European route E6 just outside Helsingborg, which continues to Trelleborg on the southern coast of Sweden.

History and naming

The International E-road network convention was signed in 1950, with E4 routed Lisbon-Madrid-Barcelona-Nimes-Geneva-Basel-Frankfurt-Hamburg-Helsingør-Stockholm-Haparanda-Helsinki. The part in Sweden was signposted E4 in 1962. Until 1962, the road Helsingborg–Stockholm was called highway 1, and Stockholm–Haparanda highway 13.

Under the new system of European routes which was decided in 1975, but introduced in Sweden in 1992, it was planned to have been a part of E55, but it remains in the pre-1992 designation (E4) within Sweden, because the expenses connected with re-signing this long road portion would be too great.[2] Besides the signs along the road, there are thousands of signs, especially in cities, showing how to reach the E4 road. The road is now fully authorised as E4 by the relevant authority, not as E55.[3]

Route

North of Gävle the road is of mixed standard. Depending on the fashion at the time of construction, it is either a single standard carriageway road, usually 8–13 metres (26–43 ft) wide, or a 2+1 road, a 13–14 metres (43–46 ft) wide road with two lanes in one direction and one in the other with a steel wire barrier in between, or sometimes a motorway with two lanes in each direction. North of Sundsvall, the road passes through several of the larger cities as city streets.

South of Gävle, the road becomes an almost continuous motorway, with the only non-motorway part being a 32 km (20 mi) long section past Ljungby, currently a 2+1 limited-access road. Upgrade to motorway standard will start in 2018.[4] Construction was restarted in 2022, with the expectation to finish it in 2024.[5] With the exception of the Ljungby bypass, the final stretch of the motorway to be opened was the road between Uppsala and Mehedeby, which was inaugurated on 17 October 2007.[6] South of Gävle, the speed limit is 110 km/h (70 mph) on 60% and 120 km/h (75 mph) on 30% of the road. North of Gävle there are varying speed limits, with 90, 100, and 110 km/h (55, 60, and 70 mph) as the most common. The speed limits on the main roads in Sweden were changed on many stretches in October 2008, which saw the introduction of the 120 km/h limit.[7]

The E4 is the fastest road to go from Germany/Denmark to areas north of the Arctic Circle, including places in Norway such as Tromsø or the North Cape.

The route passes through or nearby the cities Tornio, Haparanda, Luleå, Piteå, Skellefteå, Umeå, Örnsköldsvik, Härnösand, Sundsvall, Hudiksvall, Söderhamn, Gävle, Uppsala, Stockholm, Södertälje, Nyköping, Norrköping, Linköping, Jönköping, Värnamo, Ljungby, and Helsingborg.[8]

  • E4 near Örnsköldsvik. A common standard between Tornio and Gävle. Some roads of this standard have been converted to 2+1 road with a barrier.
  • E4 near Linköping, Sweden.
  • E4 180 m above Lake Vättern. Ruins of Brahehus.

Detailed route

More information Region, National road number ...

References

  1. [1]
    "Driving directions via E4". Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  2. [2]
    Committee on Transport and Communications. "Vägväsende m.m. Trafikutskottets betänkande 1991/92:TU15" (in Swedish). Riksdag. Retrieved 14 January 2017. Sverige tog därför, tillsammans med Finland och Norge, fram ett förslag till ändring i 1975 års överenskommelse som innebär att Europavägarna E4 och E6 får behålla sina nuvarande vägnummer. Skälen för förslaget var, för Sveriges del, dels att begreppen E4 och E6 är väl etablerade inom landet, dels att en omnumrering av dessa vägar kraftigt skulle öka kostnaderna för omskyltning m.m.
  3. [3]
    "European Agreement on Main International Traffic Arteries (AGR)" (PDF). United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. 1 November 2016. pp. 10, 12. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  4. [4]
    Trafikverket. "E4, Ljungby–Toftanäs, motorväg". Trafikverket. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  5. [5]
    Trafikverket. "E4, Ljungby–Toftanäs, byggs ut till motorväg". Trafikverket (in Swedish). Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  6. [6]
    "Nu invigs E4 Uppsala–Mehedeby". Archived from the original on 2017-01-31. Retrieved 2017-01-19.
  7. [7]
    "Beslutade nya hastighetsgränser på nationella vägar 2008 / Vägverket". Archived from the original on 2008-11-05. Retrieved 2008-12-14.
  8. [8]
    "Transport - Transport - UNECE" (PDF). www.unece.org.
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