From: Å (Norway) Countries: Norway, Sweden | To: Luleå (Sweden) Length 850 km | |
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Highway system International E-road network Major cities Kiruna, Luleå, Leknes, Bjerkvik | ||
European route E 10 is the second shortest Class A road which is part of the International E-road network. It begins in Å, Norway and ends in Luleå, Sweden. The road is about 850 km (530 mi) in length. The Norwegian part of the road is also named Kong Olav Vs vei (King Olav V's road).
The road follows the route Å – Leknes – Svolvær – Gullesfjordbotn – Evenes – Bjerkvik – Kiruna – Töre – Luleå
The entire road is paved and two-lane. It has a 90 or 110 km/h (68 mph) speed limit in Sweden, and is usually 7-8 meters wide, enough to make encounters between heavy vehicles trouble-free. In Norway the road is much more twisting than in Sweden, and around 6-7,5 m wide usually with a speed limit of 80 km/h (50 mph). New sections have been built 7.5 m (25 ft) wide the last 15 years, but there are several much narrower parts left. 6 m (20 ft) width makes encounters between heavy vehicles tight. The last 50 km near Å the road is mostly less than 6 m (20 ft) wide, often 5 m (16 ft). Buses and caravans should avoid driving here, but many of them do so anyway.
The name E 10 was given in 1992. Before 1985, E 10 was the name of the road Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam-Groningen. The road between Narvik and Kiruna was finished in 1984, before that, no road existed at all directly between the two cities; the only way to travel between them was by train (with passenger services only three times a day), or by a large detour through Finland. In 2007, the road near Lofoten was shortened by about 30 km, and the ferry-service was bypassed for E10, with the opening of Lofast, which is a new road between Fiskebøl and Gullesfjordbotn. At the end of 2007, the E 10 has 18 tunnels totalling 20.4 km (12.7 mi), all in Norway.