A Canadian in Sweden

E4

The E4 is the European Autoroute that runs from the north of Sweden all the way down to Spain somewhere. As such it is of course subject to all kinds of helpful European Union rules and regulations such as the spacing between fence posts and the acceptable colour of the asphalt to be used (black). I only hope I am joking.

But seriously, having just driven over 700 km on this road I think I am somewhat qualified to pronounce it sucks.

First a bit of context. The E4 is the only major road running north/south in Sweden. Since the rail system in Northern Sweden currently blows (this may change with the opening of the new Bothniabahn), the E4 is arguably the economic backbone of the entire country.

The only thing I give a big thumbs up to is the pavement. It is in great condition, and our road guys in Canada should drive on it before claiming our winters are too harsh and the spring thaw too severe to have decent roads.

Everything else about the E4 though seems to be designed to aggravate drivers. The speed limit fluctuates constantly. Not 5 km goes by without the speed limit changing from 110 to 90 or 70 or even 50 km/hr. This baffles me. In a couple of instances, the speed limit changes from 110 to 70 and back to 110 in a distance of less than 200 meters.

Also, on and off ramps are apparently unnecessary. It is much easier to just have every road connect to this major highway with a T-intersection and a stop sign. With, of course, an associated decrease in speed on the E4 to ensure the "merging" is done safely. And while we are on the subject of these intersections, one of the ideas of a highway is to have limited access points. Having intersections every couple of kilometers completely defeats the purpose of a highway. Highway traffic flow should be smooth and high speed - at least on average 100 km/hr. As it is now, you are lucky to average 80 km/hr over long distances. The E4 up here is not so much a highway as a glorified secondary road.

Swedish traffic engineers: Please talk to your colleagues working to make Swedish furniture and household appliances so user friendly. You could stand to learn a thing or two.

posted by Jeff @ 12:29 PM