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|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Route information | ||||
| Length | 1,590 km[citation needed] (990 mi) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| North end | Tornio, Finland | |||
| South end | Helsingborg, Sweden | |||
| Location | ||||
| Countries | Finland,Sweden | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
European route E4 passes from north to south throughSweden from the border withFinland, with a total length of 1,590 kilometres (990 mi). The Finnish part lies entirely withinTornio 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 capitalStockholm. 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.
FromHaparanda on the Finnish border, it stretches south along theGulf of Bothnia toGävle, then on a more inland route southwards. It ends inHelsingborg in Sweden, at the port for the ferry toHelsingør in Denmark. The route intersects withEuropean route E6 just outside Helsingborg, which continues toTrelleborg on the southern coast of Sweden.
TheInternational E-road network convention was signed in 1950, with the E4 routedLisbon-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 ofEuropean routes which was decided in 1975, but introduced in Sweden in 1992, it was planned to have been a part ofE55, but it retains 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]
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 a2+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 ofGävle, the road becomes an continuous motorway, the final stretch of the motorway to be opened was the road betweenUppsala andMehedeby, which was inaugurated on 17 October 2007.[4] 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.[5]
The E4 is the fastest road to go from Germany/Denmark to areas north of theArctic Circle, including places in Norway such asTromsø or theNorth Cape.
The route passes through or nearby the citiesTornio,Haparanda,Luleå,Piteå,Skellefteå,Umeå,Örnsköldsvik,Härnösand,Sundsvall,Hudiksvall,Söderhamn,Gävle,Uppsala,Stockholm,Södertälje,Nyköping,Norrköping,Linköping,Jönköping,Värnamo,Ljungby,andHelsingborg.[6]
| Region | National road number | Section | Junction | Northbound destinations | Southbound destinations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
  |  National Road 29 | Tornio |  Tornio
| Kemi | Haparanda,Luleå ( Sweden) |
| / | Haparanda -Luleå |  Haparanda
| Haparanda,Tornio (Finland) | Luleå |
| Luleå -Jävre |  Luleå-Industry (only southbound)
| Luleå | Skellefteå | ||
| Västerbotten County | Jävre -Skellefteå | Kinnbäck
| Luleå | Skellefteå | |
| Skellefteå -Umeå |  N364Skellefteå Airport,Burträsk
| Luleå | Umeå | ||
| Umeå -Rundvik | E12Holmsund,Umeå Airport,Vaasa (Finland)
| Skellefteå | Örnsköldsvik | ||
| Västernorrland County | Rundvik -Örnsköldsvik | Saluböle
| |||
| Örnsköldsvik -Sundsvall | Domsjö, Själevad
| Örnsköldsvik | Sundsvall | ||
| Sundsvall -Gnarp | E14Sundsvall-Centrum S,Östersund,Trondheim ( Norway)
| Örnsköldsvik | Gävle | ||
| Gävleborg County | Gnarp -Gävle | Gnarp
| |||
| Gävle -Mehedeby | 199E16, N56, N68Västerås,Örebro,Sandviken,Falun,Borlänge,Gävle–Sandviken Airport,Oslo (Norway)
| Sundsvall | Uppsala | ||
| Uppsala County | Mehedeby -Uppsala | 196Älvkarleby, Älvkarleö
| |||
| Uppsala -Knivsta |  Rastplats Mora Stenar (only northbound)
| Sundsvall | Stockholm | ||
| Stockholm County | Knivsta -Stockholm | 182Stockholm Arlanda Airport,Märsta N - Centrum, Arlandastad N V
| |||
 E20 | Stockholm | 163Stockholm-Centrum
| Gothenburg | ||
| E20 | Stockholm -Södertälje | 154Hägerstensåsen,Midsommarkransen, Västberga
| Stockholm | ||
| / | Södertälje -Vagnhärad | 142Södertälje S, Hamnen
| Södertälje | Norrköping | |
| Södermanland County | Vagnhärad -Strömsfors | 138 N218, N219Vagnhärad, Studsvik,Trosa, Tullgarns slott
| |||
| Östergötland County | Strömsfors -Norrköping | 126Getå,Krokek,Kolmården Wildlife Park,Strömsfors
| |||
| Norrköping -Linköping | 119E22, N209Norrköping S,Kalmar,Arkösund,Söderköping,Västervik,Norrköping Airport
| Norrköping | Linköping | ||
| Linköping -Gränna | 111 N34Linköping V,Vimmerby,Motala
| Linköping | Jönköping | ||
| Jönköping County | Gränna -Jönköping | Rastplats Brahehus
| |||
| Jönköping -Värnamo | 94Norrahammar,Barnarp
| Jönköping | Helsingborg | ||
| Kronoberg County | Värnamo -Markaryd | 83Vittaryd,Dörarp, Tånnö, Toftaholm
| |||
| Skåne County | Markaryd -Helsingborg | 73Skånes-Fagerhult
|
Sverige tog därför, tillsammans med Finland och Norge, fram ett förslag till ändring i 1975 års överenskommelse som innebär att Europavägarna E4 ochE6 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.
