SWEDISH NATIONAL ROAD BECOMES EUROPEAN ROAD “E 45”
Geneva, 12 December 2006 -- Since 23 November 2006, Swedish national
road 45, linking Göteborg
to Karesuando in the north of Sweden, has officially become a part of the
European road E 45.
Ms. A. Torstensson, Swedish Minister of Infrastructure, inaugurated in Göteborg
the new stretch of road E 45 on 24 November, in the presence of Mr. I. Skogö,
Director General of the Swedish Road Administration, Mr. H. Pettersson, Mayor
of the Municipality of Säffle, other regional and local authorities and
José Capel Ferrer, Director of the UNECE Transport Division.
“I was very pleased with the great importance the Swedish Government
and the Swedish people have attached to the new road E 45”, said Mr.
Capel Ferrer. “This is a great encouragement to our endeavour to develop
coherent and efficient transport corridors and networks in Europe, as a key
pre-requisite for economic development of countries and regions and better
living conditions of their people”.
The extension makes road E 45 one of the longest E roads, going up into
the Arctic Circle from Gela in Sicily through cities such as: Naples, Rome,
Bologna and Verona in Italy; Innsbruck in Austria; Münich, Nürnberg,
Hannover and Hamburg in Germany; Aarhus in Denmark; and Göteborg, Trollhättan,
Grums, Mora, Östersund, and Karesuando, in Sweden.
The extension of road E 45 required an amendment to the European Agreement
on Main International Traffic Arteries (AGR). The Swedish Minister of Transport
requested such an amendment in June 2005. The UNECE Working Party on Road
Transport (SC.1) adopted it in October 2005. The proposal was then notified
to all States Parties to the AGR for acceptance. None expressed disagreement
and, finally, the amendment entered into force on 23 November 2006.
The AGR, concluded under UNECE auspices in 1975, defines the E road network,
the technical conditions to which E roads should conform and a numbering system.
In accordance with the Agreement, E roads are identified through a green rectangular
sign containing the letter E followed by the number attributed to the road
in the Agreement. The AGR is constantly kept up to date to reflect roads of
international importance. In 2000 it was revised to incorporate main international
roads in the Caucasus and Central Asia. 36 States are currently Parties to
the AGR Agreement.
For further information, please contact:
José Capel Ferrer, Director, or
Marie-Noëlle Poirier
UNECE Transport Division
Palais des Nations
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Phone: +41 (0) 22 917 2400, 917 3259
Fax: +41 (0) 22 917 0039
E-mail: [email protected]
[email protected]
Ref: ECE/TRANS/06/N10