Road in trans-European E-road network
European route E6
(
Norwegian
:
Europavei 6
,
Swedish
:
Europavag 6
, or simply
E6
) is the main north-south thoroughfare through
Norway
as well as the west coast of
Sweden
. It is 3,056 km (1,899 mi) long and runs from the southern tip of
Sweden
at
Trelleborg
, into Norway and through almost all of the country north to the
Arctic Circle
and
Nordkapp
.
[1]
The route ends in
Kirkenes
close to the Russian border.
Route
[
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]
From south to north, the E6 runs through
Trelleborg
,
Malmo
,
Helsingborg
,
Halmstad
,
Gothenburg
,
Svinesund
in Sweden, before crossing the border at the
Svinesund Bridge
into Norway. It then passes
Halden
,
Sarpsborg
,
Moss
,
Vestby
to the capital
Oslo
. North of this, it passes by
Gardermoen
,
Hamar
,
Lillehammer
,
Dombas
,
Oppdal
,
Melhus
to
Trondheim
.
Beyond Trondheim, the E6 meets
Stjørdalshalsen
,
Verdalsøra
,
Steinkjer
,
Grong
,
Mosjøen
,
Mo i Rana
, then over the
Saltfjellet
mountains. It then passes through
Rognan
,
Fauske
, and
Hamarøy
towards
Bognes
, where there is a ferry crossing over the
Tysfjorden
to
Skarberget
. It then runs through on via
Narvik
,
Setermoen
,
Nordkjosbotn
,
Skibotn
, and
Alta
to
Olderfjord
, where
European route E69
continues north towards
Nordkapp
. The E6, meanwhile, turns south towards
Lakselv
and
Karasjok
, then runs on the west bank of the
Anarjohka
, which forms the border with
Finland
. Beyond the border, it passes through
Varangerbotn
, and
Kirkenes
, where the road terminates just east of the town center.
Between Trelleborg and Kirkenes, there is a more than 800 km (500 mi) shorter route using
E4
and
E75
, among the longest detour any European route has. In
Finnmark
there are several shorter alternative routes to the E6. Moreover, on the stretch from Oslo to Trondheim, following E6 strictly is a 40-kilometre (25 mi) detour compared to using
Norwegian National Road 3
or
Norwegian National Road 4
for their applicable portions of the trip.
Features
[
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]
The road is a 2+2 lane motorway from outside Trelleborg to
Moelv
, about 740 kilometres (460 mi). The last Swedish part of the E6 motorway through
Bohuslan
was completed in 2015.
[2]
[3]
This motorway is also connected to
Central Europe
by uninterrupted motorway (via
E20
). Some stretches further north also have four lanes or motorway standard. The rest of the road is usually 6?10-metre (20?33 ft) wide ordinary road. Some parts in the north of Norway are less than 6 m (20 ft) wide, making it very tight when heavy vehicles meet. The northern half of the road, north of Trondheim, is also often fairly curvy, making high speeds a possible safety hazard.
E6 passes over treeless mountain passes in a few places in Norway. In the winter, bad weather and
snow storms
can cause the road to be temporarily closed, though, unlike many minor roads, it is kept open wherever practical.
[4]
Because the road is the main artery through the country, cyclists and leisure travellers avoid the southern sections owing to the excessive traffic. In the north, traffic is sparse.
[5]
History and future plans
[
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]
This road was called E6 in the old "E" road system before 1975 and previously continued to
Rome
(introduced in Sweden 1962 and in Norway 1965).
It was given the number
E47
(but not signposted) in the new system on most of the Scandinavian part (
Helsingborg
?
Olderfjord
), and E6 only for the northernmost 460 km (290 mi) (from Olderfjord in
Finnmark
). After a political negotiation, the whole part passing through Scandinavia was given the number E6 in the new system, introduced in Scandinavia in 1992. The part Trelleborg-Helsingborg was never intended to be part of E47. E47 connects to
E4
at the Helsingør-Helsingborg ferry, and E4 and E6 connect just outside Helsingborg.
The E6 became a 4-lane motorway all the way from Trelleborg to Kolomoen (near
Hamar
) in 2015,
[2]
although the road is sometimes wider. The new Svinesund Bridge opened in 2005, replacing an earlier and narrower bridge from 1946.
[6]
Between 2012 and 2018, the road was shortened by 39 kilometres (24 mi) between Narvik and Alta, by building the
Halogaland Bridge
and more bridges and tunnels.
The 60-kilometre (37 mi) road between
Moelv
and
Øyer
is under conversion to a 4-lane motorway, set to be finished around 2025.
In
Trøndelag
, several sections north and south of
Trondheim
are under construction, or planned as motorways. This project is planned to be 106 kilometres (66 mi) long and it will go from the junction with
Norwegian National Road 3
at Ulsberg in the south to Asen north of
Trondheim Airport, Værnes
, set to be finished in 2027/2028. It will be financed by the state owned company
Nye Veier
.
[7]
On 8 June 2022, a damaged fairly short bridge (at
Badderen
), that resulted in a 163-kilometre (101 mi) detour between
Tromsø
and
Alta
, got a temporary bridge installed (over the damaged bridge) after a week interruption.
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
On 23 September 2023, a large
landslide
destroyed at least 100 metres (330 ft) of the highway, in a section near
Stenungsund
, north of
Gothenburg
.
[13]
[14]
In February 2024 plans were presented to have the motorway rebuilt and reopened by the end of 2024.
[15]
[16]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Top 10 Drivers' Drives"
.
National Geographic
. Archived from
the original
on September 20, 2010
. Retrieved
3 August
2016
.
- ^
a
b
"Motorvag genom hela Bohuslan"
(Press release) (in Swedish).
Swedish Transport Administration
. 6 July 2015
. Retrieved
6 November
2017
.
- ^
Kind, Hanne Stine; Eide, Stein S. (25 June 2015).
"Sju ars E6-ventetid er over"
.
NRK
(in Norwegian)
. Retrieved
5 November
2017
.
- ^
Lonely Planet : Norway
. Lonely Planet. 2011. p. 415.
ISBN
978-1-742-20472-7
.
- ^
"Norway"
. International Cyclist
. Retrieved
3 August
2016
.
- ^
Strait Crossings 2001
. CRC Press. 2001. p. 173.
ISBN
978-9-026-51845-4
.
- ^
"Nye Veier AS"
. Nye Veier
. Retrieved
18 October
2020
.
- ^
"Badderen bru apnet for trafikk"
.
NRK
(in Norwegian Bokmal). 2022-06-08
. Retrieved
2024-01-11
.
- ^
"Det er mer enn ei bru i Nord-Norge som har gitt etter. Det er tilliten som smuldrer opp"
.
Nettavisen
(in Norwegian). 2022-05-31
. Retrieved
2024-01-11
.
- ^
Andreassen, Rune N. (2022-06-05).
"Midlertidig bru snart klar: Gjenapner E6 i Nord-Troms allerede onsdag"
.
NRK
(in Norwegian Bokmal)
. Retrieved
2024-03-23
.
- ^
"Midlertidig bru settes inn over Badderen pa E6 i Nord-Troms"
.
Nettavisen
(in Norwegian). 2022-06-01
. Retrieved
2024-01-11
.
- ^
Wilhelms, Hanne (2022-05-31).
"E6 stengt i Nord-Troms ? omkjøring via Finland"
.
NRK
(in Norwegian Bokmal)
. Retrieved
2024-01-11
.
- ^
Nikel, David (2023-09-23).
"Landslide Destroys Main E6 Sweden-Norway Highway"
.
Life in Norway
. Retrieved
2023-09-23
.
- ^
"A landslide in Sweden causes a huge sinkhole on a highway and 3 are injured when cars crash"
.
AP News
. 2023-09-23
. Retrieved
2023-09-23
.
- ^
Government to spend an extra SEK 1 billion repairing the E6 motorway
Swedish Public Radio,
in English
, published 5th of April 2024, retrieved 19th of April 2024
- ^
E6 i Stenungsund kan oppnas i host
E6 in Stenungsund can be opened this autumn, Aftonbladet
in Swedish
published 6th of February 2024, retrieved again 19th of April 2024
External links
[
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]