European route E45

E45
Major junctions
North end	Alta, Norway
South end	Gela, Italy
Location
Countries	Norway  Finland  Sweden  Denmark  Germany  Austria  Italy
Highway system
International E-road network A Class B Class

E45 between Sorsele and in Lappland, Sweden. The speed limit here has been reduced to 100 km/h (62 mph)^[1] from 110 km/h (68 mph) since this picture was taken.

Northernmost exit on the Danish part of E45; just south of Frederikshavn

The European route E45 goes between Norway and Italy, through Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Austria. With a length of about 5,190 kilometres (3,225 mi), it is the longest north–south European route (some east–west routes are longer).

The route passes through Alta (Norway) – Kautokeino – Hetta (Finland) – Palojoensuu – Kaaresuvanto – Gällivare (Sweden) – Porjus – Jokkmokk – Arvidsjaur – Östersund – Mora – Säffle – Åmål – Brålanda – Gothenburg ... Frederikshavn (Denmark) – Aalborg – Randers – Aarhus – Skanderborg – Vejle – Kolding – Frøslev – Flensburg (Germany) – Hamburg – Hanover – Hildesheim – Göttingen – Kassel – Fulda – Würzburg – Nuremberg – Munich – Rosenheim – Wörgl (Austria) – Innsbruck – Brenner – Fortezza (Italy) – Bolzano – Trento – Verona – Modena – Bologna – Cesena – Perugia – Fiano Romano – Naples – Salerno – Sicignano – Cosenza – Villa San Giovanni ... Messina – Catania – Siracusa – Gela.^[2]

Norway and Finland[]

E45 is 172 km long in Norway and 101 km long in Finland. It has no other number in Norway, but follows routes 21 and 93 in Finland.

The E45 was not signposted in Finland after the 2006 extension,^[3] since the official document^[2] uses the Swedish version ("Karesuando") of the name of the village at the Finnish–Swedish border, hinting that it would start on the Swedish side. The Swedish government proposed the extension alone in 2005 and let the E45 end at the border, partly because of lack of interest from Finnish authorities. The gap between the end of E45 and the European route E8 was about 1 km along the existing Karesuvanto (FIN) – Karesuando (SWE)

In August 2016, after a political proposal in 2007, the governments of Norway and Finland applied for an extension of E45 Karesuando–Kaaresuvanto–Palojoensuu–Hetta–Kautokeino–Alta.^[4] This was approved by the work group, and became valid on 5 December 2017.^[5] E45 sign posts were mounted starting 9 February 2018,^[6] replacing route 93 in Norway, and complementing road 959, 21 and 93 in Finland.

Sweden[]

In November 2006, the E45 was extended with the then existing Swedish national road 45, which makes it start from Karesuando at the Swedish–Finnish border (near the E8), over Östersund–Mora–Grums, to Gothenburg and on. This extended the length of the route by about 1,690 km (1,050 mi). The signs of road 45 was changed to E45 during the summer of 2007. The E45 has now no other national number. In Sweden the road is called Inlandsvägen.

The E45 in Sweden is mostly a standard road. Between Karesuando and Torsby (1370 km) the road is usually 6–8 meters wide, and goes mostly through sparsely populated forests, with occasional villages and only two cities above 10,000 people, Östersund and Mora. The E45 is a motorway for 6 km together with the E18 south of Grums. Between Säffle and Trollhättan several parts of it is 2+1 road with a middle barrier, totally around 40 km. Between Trollhättan and Surte there is a 52 km long motorway, finished in 2012. Between Surte and Gothenburg there is a 17 km road designed equivalently to a motorway. The exception is that there are two gaps in the Trollhättan–Surte motorway and there are two traffic lights along the Surte–Gothenburg road. The speed limit is usually 100 km/h north of Mora and usually 90 km/h south thereof. There are 27 road crossings or intersections where the Swedish E45 does not follow the straight direction. There are 26 level crossings with railways. There are 19 motorway exits and 29 other motorway-like exits.

The ferry Gothenburg–Frederikshavn has about 6 daily departures and takes 3½ hours.

Denmark[]

In Denmark the E45 is a motorway (speed limit 110 to 130 km/h or 70 to 80 mph) from the south of Frederikshavn along the east coast of Jutland to the Denmark–Germany border. The E45 has no other national number. It connects to the E39 and E20 motorways.

E3 in Denmark, before 1992: Changed to E45; the number E3 was re-attributed.

In 1992 it was renamed from E3 (which before 1985 ended in Lisbon, Portugal) and until 2006, with the extension in Sweden, the northern endpoint was Frederikshavn.

The total length in Denmark is 357 km.

Exits in Denmark[]

Name/Location	#	Destinations	Notes
Sæby N	12	Sekundærrute 180 Sæby,
Rest area Øksenhede
Sæby S	13	Sekundærrute 180 Sekundærrute 541 Sæby, , to Sekundærrute 553
	14	Sekundærrute 589 , Dybvad, Voerså
	15
Hjallerup N	16	Sekundærrute 559 Hjallerup, , Dronninglund, to Sekundærrute 180
Rest area Hjallerup Enge			Gas station on the east-side
	17	Sekundærrute 180 Hjallerup, Grindsted
Vodskov N	18	Vodskov, , to Sekundærrute 180
Vodskov	19	Vodskov, Hals
	20	Nørresundby, to E39 Primærrute 11 Sekundærrute 180
Vendsyssel		E39 Primærrute 11 Brønderslev, Hjørring, Hirtshals, Thisted, to Sekundærrute 180	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
Nørresundby N	21	Nørresundby, Aalborg Airport, to Sekundærrute 180
Nørresundby C	22	Sekundærrute 180 Nørresundby	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
Limfjordstunnelen			582 metres (1,909 ft) length. Max height 4,3m
Aalborg N	23	Aalborg,	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
	24	Aalborg,
	25	Vejgaard, Aalborg Ø	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
	26	Sekundærrute 507 Sekundærrute 595 Aalborg
Aalborg C	27	Aalborg	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
Aalborg S	28	Sekundærrute 187 Aalborg, Skalborg
Rest area Dall/Limfjorden			Restaurant on the west-side
Svenstrup	29	Sekundærrute 180 Svenstrup,
Støvring N	30	Støvring
Støvring S	31	Sekundærrute 519 Støvring,
Service area Himmerland
	32	Viborg, Aars	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
	33	Sekundærrute 535 , Arden
Rest area Senhøj
Hobro N	34	Sekundærrute 541 Hobro
Hobro V	35	Sekundærrute 579 Hobro
	36	Sekundærrute 517 Sekundærrute 555 , Viborg, Mariager
	37	Sekundærrute 180 , Hobro
Rest area Glenshøj
Purhus	38	Purhus,
Randers N	39	Sekundærrute 180 Sekundærrute 507 Randers, Hadsund
Randers C	40	Randers, Viborg
Rest area Gudenå
Randers S	42	Randers
	43	Primærrute 21 Sekundærrute 180 Sekundærrute 511 Grenaa, Ebeltoft, , Hadsten, Sjællands Odde
Hadsten	44	Sekundærrute 587 Hadsten, Ebeltoft, Grenaa Aarhus Airport
Århus Nord		Primærrute 15 Århus N, Grenaa, Ebeltoft, Skejby, Sjællands Odde
Århus N	46	Sekundærrute 505 Hinnerup, Lisbjerg
Tilst	47	Tilst, Viborg
Tilst		Viborg (planned)
Rest area Pedersminde/Blankhøj
Århus Vest		Primærrute 15 Århus, Silkeborg, Herning
Århus S	49	Århus, Hasselager Sjællands Odde	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
Hørning	50	Hørning, Hasselager	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
Århus Syd		Sekundærrute 501 Hasselager, Hørning, Viby J, Sjællands Odde	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
Skanderborg N	51	Sekundærrute 511 Skanderborg, Stilling
Rest area Fuglsang
Skanderborg V	52	Sekundærrute 511 Skanderborg, Ry, Odder
Skanderborg S	53	Sekundærrute 409 Skanderborg, Østbirk,	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
Ejer Bavnehøj	54	Ejer Bavnehøj
Horsens N	55	Sekundærrute 461 Horsens, Østbirk
Horsens V	56	Horsens, Juelsminde, Silkeborg
Horsens C	56b	Horsens, Hatting
Horsens S	57	Sekundærrute 451 Horsens, Odder, Billund Billund Airport
Rest area Merring/Nørremark
Hedensted	58	Hedensted, Løsning
	59	, Vejle N
Vejle		Herning, Viborg
Vejle N	60	Sekundærrute 170 Vejle, Juelsminde
Vejle C	61a	Vejle, Fredericia, Billund
Vejle S	61b
Service area Skærup
Skærup		E20 Odense	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
Kolding		E20 Odense	Northbound exit, southbound entrance. Concurrency with E20 begins
Kolding Ø	62	Sekundærrute 170 Sekundærrute 176 Kolding, Billund Billund Airport
	63
Kolding Vest	64	E20 Kolding, Varde, Esbjerg	Concurrency with E20 ends
Rest area Hylkedal
Kolding S	65a	Kolding, Vamdrup, Tønder
	65b
Christiansfeld	66	Christiansfeld
Haderslev N	67	Haderslev
Vojens	68	Vojens, Ribe, Haderslev Vojens Airport
Service area Ustrup
Haderslev S	69	Sekundærrute 435 Haderslev, Tønder
Rest area Øster Løgum
Aabenraa N	70	Aabenraa, Rødekro, Ribe
Rest area Årslev			Restaurant on east-side
Aabenraa	71	Aabenraa	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
Aabenraa S	72	Aabenraa, Tinglev
Kliplev		Sønderborg,
	73	Sekundærrute 481 , Tønder, Gråsten, Tinglev, Ribe
Rest area Oksekær
Kruså	74	Kruså, Flensburg	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
Bov	75	Sekundærrute 401 Bov, Tønder, Padborg, Kruså,
Padborg	76	Padborg, Frøslev	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
Service area Frøslev
Padborg	76	Padborg, Frøslev	Northbound exit, southbound entrance

Germany[]

The E45 follows:

• A7, Danish border–Würzburg
• A3, Würzburg–Nuremberg
• A9, Nuremberg–Munich
• A99, Munich Beltway
• A8, Munich–Rosenheim
• A93, Rosenheim–Austrian border

The length in Germany is 1022 km.

Between Nuremberg and Verona, Italy the E45 corresponds with the route of the old imperial road, the Via Imperii, though the Autobahns are newer roads.

Austria[]

The E45 follows:

• Inn Valley Autobahn A12, German border–Innsbruck
• Brenner Autobahn A13, Innsbruck–Italian border (at Brenner Pass)

The length in Austria is 109 km.

Italy[]

Owing to the greater recognition of motorways and nationally or locally numbered major roads in Italy, in colloquial usage "E45" often refers to the Cesena-Orte segment,^[7] possibly further expanded to include the Ravenna-Cesena section of the SS3bis (formally part of the E55, and forming together the Strada di Grande Comunicazione Ravenna-Orte) and/or the Orte-Rome segment.

Route[]

 Norway

• E45: Alta – Kautokeino –  Norway/ Finland border

 Finland

• :  Norway/ Finland border – Hetta – Palojoensuu
•  / E8: Palojoensuu – Kaaresuvanto
• : Kaaresuvanto –  Finland/ Sweden border

 Sweden

• E45: Karesuando – Svappavaara (Start of Concurrency with E10) – Gällivare (End of Concurrency with E10) – Arvidsjaur – Storuman (Start of Concurrency with E12) – Stensele (End of Concurrency with E12) – – Östersund (Start of Concurrency with E14) – Brunflo (End of Concurrency with E14) – Sveg – Mora – Malung (Start of Concurrency with E16) – Stöllet – – Torsby (End of Concurrency with E16) – Vålberg – Åmål – Trollhättan – Gothenburg
• Gothenburg – Fredrikshavn

 Denmark

• E45: Fredrikshavn – Aalborg – Randers – Aarhus – Horsens – Vejle – Kolding – Haderslev – Aabenraa – / border

 Germany

• A7: / border – Flensburg – Neumünster – Hamburg – Hanover – Hildesheim - Göttingen – Kassel – Fulda – Würzburg
• A3: Würzburg – Nuremberg
• A9: Nuremberg – Ingolstadt – Munich
• A99: Munich
• A8: Munich – Rosenheim
• A93: Rosenheim – / border

 Austria

• A12: / border – Kufstein – Wörgl (Start of Concurrency with E60) – Wiesing – Innsbruck (End of Concurrency with E60)
• A13: Innsbruck – Matrei am Brenner – / border

 Italy

Signs for the E45 route in Sicily.

• A22: / border – Brennero – Vipiteno – Bolzano – Trento – Rovereto – Verona – Mantua – Modena (Start of Concurrency with E35)
• A1: Modena – (End of Concurrency with E35)
• A14: – Bologna – Cesena
• SS 3bis: Cesena – – Sansepolcro – Umbertide – Perugia – Todi – Terni
• SS 675: Terni – Narni – Orte
• A1: Orte – Nazzano – – Frosinone – Caserta – Afragola – Casalnuovo di Napoli – Casoria – Naples
• A3: Naples – Pompeii – Salerno
• A2: Salerno – Battipaglia – Cosenza – Vibo Valentia – Villa San Giovanni
• Villa San Giovanni – Messina
• A18: Messina – Taormina – Giarre – Catania
• RA 15: Catania
• (Autostrada Catania-Siracusa): Catania – – Augusta
• SS 114: Augusta – Melilli – Syracuse
• A18: Syracuse – Noto – Rosolini
• SS 115 – Rosolini – Modica – Ragusa – Comiso – Gela

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to E45.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for E45 through Europe.

• UN Economic Commission for Europe: Overall Map of E-road Network (2007)