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| Route information | |
| Length | 680 km (420 mi) |
| Major junctions | |
| West end | Dunkerque, France |
| East end | Aschaffenburg, Germany |
| Location | |
| Countries |  France Belgium Germany |
| Highway system | |
European route E42 is a road inEurope and a part of theUnited NationsInternational E-road network. It connectsDunkerque, a majorferry andcontainerport at the northern end of theFrenchcoast withAschaffenburg[1] on the north western tip ofBavaria. Along the way it also passes throughWallonia inBelgium and theGermanLänder ofRhineland-Palatinate andHessen. The full length of the route is approximately 680 kilometers (420 mi).
The western section of the route runs close to theFranco-Dutchlanguage border. As a consequence, traffic signs might useDutch exonyms for French or Walloon cities, andFrench exonyms for Dutch-speaking places. When a city lies in France, both names will be displayed inFlanders (e.g.Rijsel will be followed byLille in italics).
The western end between Dunkerque and Lille follows a four lane dual carriageway toll free highway. Much of this has recently been resurfaced, but parts remain of subautoroute standard in terms of such details as junction lay-out and speed limits. Lille itself is at the centre ofa major industrial area and is the meeting point of major routes. The passage of the E42 along the urban highway is marked by several sharp bends and, especially for westbound traffic, unavoidable lane changes as well asspeed cameras. Delays during peak commuting times are frequent.
The route follows no fewer than six different autoroutes in succession during its passage through southern Belgium (Wallonia), linking all its major cities, from the provincial capitalMons, toCharleroi andNamur, along with the major commercial and university city ofLiège and its important cargoairport further to the east. The most easterly portion within Belgium was fully upgraded to autoroute standard only with the completion of the A27 at the end of the 20th century: before that happened the main road included (subject to diversions on race days) a brief stretch that used theFormula Oneracing circuit atSpa. The final kilometers before the German frontier includetowns and villages transferred fromGermany toBelgium under the provisions of the1919 Treaty of Versailles endorsed in 1925 by a referendum process not universally regarded as fair: over three quarters of a century later sign boards showing place names in French and German frequently have the French versions deleted by graffiti artists.
The eastern portion of the E42 in Germany follows theBAB 60. Despite considerable progress in recent years, the building of the Autobahn was delayed during the final decade of the 20th century, and the road in this area is still missing several important doubled road viaducts, so that at various points the road is reduced to a single two lane road. The landscape here is relatively mountainous: a recent development has been the appearance on the surrounding horizons of modernwindmill groupings.
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