European route E16

European route E16 is the designation of a main west-east road through Northern Ireland, Scotland, Norway and Sweden, from Derry to Gävle, via Belfast, Glasgow, Edinburgh, previously by ferry to Bergen, Voss, through the Gudvanga Tunnel and the Lærdal Tunnel (the world's longest road tunnel), Lærdal, over Filefjell to Fagernes, Hønefoss, Gardermoen and Kongsvinger. In Sweden it passes Malung, Falun and ends in Gävle.[1]

E16
Route information
Length1,180 km (730 mi)
Major junctions
West endDerry, United Kingdom
East endGävle, Sweden
Location
Countries United Kingdom
 Norway
 Sweden
Highway system
International E-road network

United Kingdom

In Northern Ireland, it follows the A6 from Derry to Randalstown, then the M22 and M2 to Belfast. In Scotland it follows the M8 from Glasgow to Edinburgh.

E16 meets the E1 and E18 in Belfast, the E5 in Glasgow, the E15 in Edinburgh. European routes are not signposted in the UK. There is no ferry anymore between the United Kingdom and Norway.

Norway

E16 is the main road between Norway's two largest cities Oslo and Bergen, and the only mountain pass between Oslo and Bergen that is rarely closed due to snowstorms and blizzards (it goes below the tree line). Outside winter, Route 7 is at least as popular between Oslo and Bergen, since it is shorter. There are some other options such as the road through Hemsedal. E16 is narrow at many places in Norway, although upgrades are being built.

E16 is 630 kilometres (390 mi) long in Norway. E16 meets the E39 in Bergen and the E6 at Gardermoen.

Sweden

E16 is 360 kilometres (220 mi) long in Sweden. E16 runs together with the E45 between Torsby and Malung, and with the E4 in Gävle. There is no customs control at the Norway-Sweden border (but there is video surveillance), meaning that transports needing to be declared for customs, including most lorries, must be pre-cleared.

History

The road number E16 was introduced in Norway in 1992, between Bergen and Oslo. The road Bergen–Oslo was called E68 in the old E-road system from 1950.[2] In 1975, a new system was decided, where E16 only went through the United Kingdom (Londonderry–Edinburgh), and Bergen–Oslo was called E136.[3] This was changed after several revisions of the agreement.

In 2011 it was decided to extend E16 from the Oslo region eastwards through Kongsvinger, Torsby, Malung, Borlänge to Gävle in Sweden.[4][5] The signposting took place autumn 2012.

A large road construction project was finished 1992 when a new routing was opened almost all the way between Bergen and Voss. A further large project were the tunnels between Gudvangen and Lærdal which total around 43 km, including the Lærdal Tunnel (the world's longest road tunnel), finished 2000. In 2003-2017 the road from Lærdal and over the mountain pass was improved with 5 new tunnels of over 1 km length, improving road quality and winter predictability.

References
  1. UN ECE European Agreement on Main International Traffic Arteries (AGR)
  2. Declaration on the construction of main international traffic arteries. 1950 - 1961
  3. "volume-1302-l-21618-English.pdf" (pdf). Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  4. 60.675°N 17.142°E / 60.675; 17.142
  5. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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