| Country: | EUR |
| Type: | E |
| Route: | 20 |
| Direction A: | West |
| Terminus A: | Shannon Airport, Ireland |
| Direction B: | East |
| Terminus B: | Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| Countries: |  Ireland United Kingdom Denmark Sweden Estonia |
European route E20 is a part of the United Nations International E-road network. It runs roughly west–east through Ireland, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, and Russia.
Its length is 1880km (1,170miles) but it is not continuous; at three points, a sea crossing is required. Roll-on/roll-off ferries make the crossings between Dublin and Liverpool as well as between Stockholm and Tallinn. No publicly accessible ferries traverse the North Sea from Kingston-upon-Hull to Esbjerg (as of 2019), but a ferry for commercial drivers runs between Immingham and Esbjerg on most days.[1]
The initial section of the E20 from Shannon Airport to Dublin via Limerick is approximately 228 km long and is only partially signed, along the M7/N7. The section from Shannon Airport to east of Limerick is mainly dual carriageway, with a short section of motorway as part of the Limerick Southern Ring Road. The Shannon Tunnel, opened on 16 July 2010, completed the bypass of Limerick. The section from Limerick to Naas is motorway (M7), and the final section from Naas to Dublin is dual carriageway (N7). A ferry must be used from Dublin to Liverpool.[2]
E20 follows the A5080 from Liverpool to Huyton, the M62 and M60 from Huyton to South Cave, and the A63 from South Cave to Kingston upon Hull. The route length across the UK is 205km (127miles) in total but is not signposted.
There are no ferries between Kingston upon Hull and Esbjerg. Alternative ferries were once available from Immingham, which is 48km (30miles) from Kingston upon Hull, and Harwich, which is 350km (220miles) from Kingston upon Hull. There are no longer any passenger routes operating between the UK and Scandinavia.
The closest alternative is to take the Eurotunnel Shuttle from Cheriton (Folkestone) to Calais, or take a ferry from Harwich to Hook of Holland. Both of these routes would require a detour of around 900 miles (940 miles to Esbjerg, as this route would require you to drive along the E20 to reach Esbjerg).[3]
In Denmark, E20 is a motorway from Esbjerg to the Øresund Bridge. The length of the Danish part is 315km (196miles).
It passes first along Jutland from Esbjerg to Kolding, then crosses the Little Belt Bridge onto Funen. E20 crosses the entirety of Funen, passing approximately 2 km south of Odense. Then, at Nyborg, E20 crosses the Great Belt Fixed Link onto Zealand. E20 follows the Vestmotorvejen until Køge, where it goes north to Copenhagen. In Copenhagen, E20 passes south of the city, crossing onto Kastrup where it meets the Copenhagen Airport. Between Køge and Copenhagen, the road has three E-road numbers (also E47 and E55).
The Great Belt Bridge and Øresund Bridge are both tolled.[4] [5] The Øresund crossing begins as a tunnel at Kastrup, which then transfers onto the bridge at the man-made island Peberholm. The road crosses the border between Denmark and Sweden on the Øresund Bridge.
In Sweden, E20 is a motorway from the Öresund Bridge in Malmö to Alingsås 48 km northeast of Gothenburg, a 330km (210miles) long motorway. Furthermore, it is a motorway most of the route from Vretstorp (20 km (12 mi) west of Örebro) to Stockholm.
The Swedish part of E20 is 770km (480miles) long. Its extent is shared with E6 along a 280km (170miles) long stretch, with E18 along 50km (30miles) and with E4 along 35km (22miles).
The part through Stockholm has very heavy traffic, including the most heavily trafficked road in Scandinavia, Essingeleden (160 000 vehicles/day). There is often congestion on this stretch. A new tunnel for route E20, "Norra länken", was built north of the city center and opened 30 November 2014.[6] The planned Förbifart Stockholm bypass will divert traffic from Essingeleden.
Between Stockholm and Tallinn a car ferry departs daily, taking 15 hours. The port in Stockholm is located at Lilla Värtan, about 4 km northeast of the central core of the city.
In Estonia, E20 follows the route of national main road nr. 1 (Tallinn–Narva). In Tallinn to relieve traffic a bridge has been built on the intersection of the E263 and the E20. The E20 across Estonia is partially an unsigned expressway for 87 km east of Tallinn to Haljala along with a section near Kohtla-Järve and Jõhvi (km 155.9–163.2). The speed limit on the dual carriageway sections is 110 km/h in summer and 90 km/h in the winter with some dual carriageway sections allowing 100 km/h in the winter months but these are set to the parts of the dual carriageway sections where there’s not a greater risk of wildlife and pedestrians.
The remainder being single carriageway all the way to Narva where it crosses to Russia on the Friendship bridge.
The distance from Tallinn to the Russian border at the Narva River is 218 km.
In Russia, the route takes the Narva Highway (also listed in the Russian road numbering system as the A180 route, formerly known as the M11 route) running from Ivangorod to Saint Petersburg as a dual-lane highway. The distance from Ivangorod to Saint Petersburg is 142 km.
The border control facilities at the Estonia-Russia crossing are equipped and being operated for a limited amount of traffic on both sides of the border. The border crossing requires a reservation - despite this, waiting lines still can extend for many hours and even days.[7]
Limerick - Borris-in-Ossory - Portlaoise - Naas
Dublin - Liverpool
Liverpool Outer Ring Road (Whole length)
Huyton - Manchester (Interchange with and start of multiplex with at Warrington)
Manchester Outer Ring Road (Clockwise)
Manchester - (Interchange with at Pontefract and end of multiplex with at Goole)
- Hull
Esbjerg - Kolding - Køge (Start of Concurrency with) - København (End of Concurrency with)
Malmö (Start of Concurrency with) - Helsingborg - Gothenburg (End of Concurrency with) - Örebro (Start of Concurrency with) - Arboga (End of Concurrency with) - Eskilstuna - Södertälje (Start of Concurrency with) - Stockholm (End of Concurrency with, Towards)
Ivangorod - Saint Petersburg (Towards)