| Country: | EUR |
| Type: | E |
| Route: | 45 |
| Direction A: | North |
| Terminus A: | Alta, Norway |
| Direction B: | South |
| Terminus B: | Gela, Italy |
| Countries: |  Norway Finland Sweden Denmark Germany Austria Italy |
European route E45 connects Norway and Italy, through Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Austria. With a length of about 5190km (3,230miles), 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.[1]
E45 is long in Norway and 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,[2] since the official document 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 Finnish regional road 959 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.[3] This was approved by the work group, and became valid on 5 December 2017.[4] E45 sign posts were mounted starting 9 February 2018,[5] replacing route 93 in Norway, and complementing road 959, 21 and 93 in Finland.
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 1690km (1,050miles). 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, in total 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 between Gothenburg and Frederikshavn runs about six times a day and takes 3½ hours.
In Denmark the E45 is a motorway (speed limit 110to) 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.
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.
| Name/Location | Destinations | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sæby N | 12 | Sæby, Vangen | ||
| Rest area Øksenhede | ||||
| Sæby S | 13 | Sæby, Syvsten, to | ||
| Flauenskjold | 14 | Flauenskjold, Dybvad, Voerså | ||
| Jyske Ås | 15 | Klokkerholm | ||
| Hjallerup N | 16 | Hjallerup, Asaa, Dronninglund, to | ||
| Rest area Hjallerup Enge | Gas station on the east-side | |||
| Lyngdrup | 17 | Hjallerup, Grindsted | ||
| Vodskov N | 18 | Vodskov, Langholt, to | ||
| Vodskov | 19 | Vodskov, Hals | ||
| Bouet | 20 | Nørresundby, to | ||
| Vendsyssel | Brønderslev, Hjørring, Hirtshals, Thisted, to | Northbound exit, southbound entrance | ||
| Nørresundby N | 21 | Nørresundby, Lindholm Aalborg Airport, to | ||
| Nørresundby C | 22 | Nørresundby | Northbound exit, southbound entrance | |
| Limfjordstunnelen | 582 metres (1,909 ft) length. Max height 4,3m | |||
| Aalborg N | 23 | Aalborg, Rørdal | Southbound exit, northbound entrance | |
| Ø. Uttrup Vej | 24 | Aalborg, Rørdal | ||
| Humlebakken | 25 | Vejgaard, Aalborg Ø | Southbound exit, northbound entrance | |
| Th. Sauers Vej | 26 | Aalborg | ||
| Aalborg C | 27 | Aalborg | Northbound exit, southbound entrance | |
| Aalborg S | 28 | Aalborg, Skalborg | ||
| Rest area Dall/Limfjorden | Restaurant on the west-side | |||
| Svenstrup | 29 | Svenstrup, Ellidshøj | ||
| Støvring N | 30 | Støvring | ||
| Støvring S | 31 | Støvring, Sørup | ||
| Service area Himmerland | ||||
| Sønderup | 32 | Viborg, Aars | Southbound exit, northbound entrance | |
| Haverslev | 33 | Haverslev, Arden | ||
| Rest area Senhøj | ||||
| Hobro N | 34 | Hobro | ||
| Hobro V | 35 | Hobro | ||
| Onsild | 36 | Onsild, Viborg, Mariager | ||
| Handest | 37 | Handest, Hobro | ||
| Rest area Glenshøj | ||||
| Purhus | 38 | Purhus, Fårup | ||
| Randers N | 39 | Randers, Hadsund | ||
| Randers C | 40 | Randers, Viborg | ||
| Rest area Gudenå | ||||
| Randers S | 42 | Randers | ||
| Sønder Borup | 43 | Grenaa, Ebeltoft, Sønder Borup, Hadsten, Sjællands Odde | ||
| Hadsten | 44 | Hadsten, Ebeltoft, Grenaa Aarhus Airport | ||
| Århus Nord | Århus N, Grenaa, Ebeltoft, Skejby, Sjællands Odde | |||
| Århus N | 46 | |||
| Tilst | 47 | Tilst, Viborg | ||
| Tilst | Viborg (planned) | |||
| Rest area Pedersminde/Blankhøj | ||||
| Århus Vest | Århus, Silkeborg, Herning | |||
| Århus S | 49 | Århus, Hasselager Sjællands Odde | Southbound exit, northbound entrance | |
| Hørning | 50 | Hørning, Hasselager | Southbound exit, northbound entrance | |
| Århus Syd | Hasselager, Hørning, Viby J, Sjællands Odde | Northbound exit, southbound entrance | ||
| Skanderborg N | 51 | Skanderborg, Stilling | ||
| Rest area Fuglsang | ||||
| Skanderborg V | 52 | Skanderborg, Ry, Odder | ||
| Skanderborg S | 53 | Skanderborg, Østbirk, Nørre Snede | Southbound exit, northbound entrance | |
| Ejer Bavnehøj | 54 | |||
| Horsens N | 55 | Horsens, Østbirk | ||
| Horsens V | 56 | Horsens, Juelsminde, Silkeborg | ||
| Horsens C | 56b | Horsens, Hatting | ||
| Horsens S | 57 | Horsens, Odder, Billund Billund Airport | ||
| Rest area Merring/Nørremark | ||||
| Hedensted | 58 | Hedensted, Løsning | ||
| Hornstrup | 59 | Hornstrup, Vejle N | ||
| Vejle | Herning, Viborg | |||
| Vejle N | 60 | Vejle, Juelsminde | ||
| Vejle C | 61a | Vejle, Fredericia, Billund | ||
| Vejle S | 61b | |||
| Service area Skærup | ||||
| Skærup | Odense | Southbound exit, northbound entrance | ||
| Kolding | Odense | Northbound exit, southbound entrance. Concurrency with begins | ||
| Kolding Ø | 62 | Kolding, Billund Billund Airport | ||
| Bramdrupdam | 63 | Bramdrupdam | ||
| Kolding Vest | 64 | Kolding, Varde, Esbjerg | Concurrency with ends | |
| Rest area Hylkedal | ||||
| Kolding S | 65a | Kolding, Vamdrup, Tønder | ||
| Vonsild | 65b | Vonsild | ||
| Christiansfeld | 66 | Christiansfeld | ||
| Haderslev N | 67 | Haderslev | ||
| Vojens | 68 | Vojens, Ribe, Haderslev Vojens Airport | ||
| Service area Ustrup | ||||
| Haderslev S | 69 | 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, Fynshav | |||
| Kliplev | 73 | Kliplev, Tønder, Gråsten, Tinglev, Ribe | ||
| Rest area Oksekær | ||||
| Kruså | 74 | Kruså, Flensburg | Southbound exit, northbound entrance | |
| Bov | 75 | Bov, Tønder, Padborg, Kruså, Egernsund | ||
| Padborg | 76 | Padborg, Frøslev | Southbound exit, northbound entrance | |
| Service area Frøslev | ||||
| Padborg | 76 | Padborg, Frøslev | Northbound exit, southbound entrance |
The E45 follows:
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.
The E45 follows:
The length in Austria is 109 km.
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,[6] 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.
Norway/ Finland border Norway/ Finland border – Hetta – Palojoensuu Finland/ Sweden border – Fredrikshavn / border/ border – Flensburg – Neumünster – Hamburg – Hanover – Hildesheim - Göttingen – Kassel – Fulda – Würzburg/ border/ border – Kufstein – Wörgl (Start of Concurrency with) – Wiesing – Innsbruck (End of Concurrency with)/ border/ border – Brennero – Vipiteno – Bolzano – Trento – Rovereto – Verona – Mantua – Modena (Start of Concurrency with)