European route E45 connects Norway and Italy, through Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Austria. With a length of about , 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.
Unlike route E20 further east, there is no road connection between Denmark and Sweden; nor is there a road connection across the Strait of Messina between the Italian Peninsula and the island of Sicily. Ferries are used to transit these sections.
Norway and Finland 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,Karesuando och Karesuvanto... (Bilder) and SV: Skyltning efter vägarna !! 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.ECE/TRANS/SC.1/2016/2 Amendments to the Agreement Submitted by the Governments Finland and Norway This was approved by the work group, and became valid on 5 December 2017.Report of the Working Party on Road Transport on its 112th session E45 sign posts were mounted starting 9 February 2018,Klart for E45 (NRK 9 February 2018, in Norwegian) 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 . 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 E45 does not offer a direct road connection from Sweden to Denmark. Ferry services across the Kattegat run between Gothenburg in Sweden and the Danish town of Frederikshavn about six times a day and take 3.5 hours. Those who do not wish to travel by ferry can use E20 to get to the Øresund Bridge between Malmö in Sweden and Copenhagen in Denmark.
Bridge damaged and closed On 29 September 2026 the Strömsund bridge was damaged and closed after a very heavy transport drove over it.Strömsundsbron på E45 avstängd efter skada Trafikverket (Swedish Transport Administration) had issued a license to transport a transformer unit weighing 100 tons to Mo i Rana in Norway.Trafikverket: Dispens finns – lasten väger 100 ton It is expected that the bridge will remain closed for at least one month for repairs.Larm om broras i Strömsund: ”Smällt till”
Denmark In Denmark the E45 is a motorway (speed limit ) 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.
Exits in Denmark Name/Location#DestinationsNotesSæby N12 Sæby, VangenRest area Øksenhede Sæby S13 Sæby, Syvsten, to Flauenskjold14 Flauenskjold, Dybvad, VoersåJyske Ås15KlokkerholmHjallerup N16 Hjallerup, Asaa, Dronninglund, to Rest area Hjallerup Enge Gas station on the east-sideLyngdrup17 Hjallerup, GrindstedVodskov N18Vodskov, Langholt, to Vodskov19Vodskov, HalsBouet20Nørresundby, to Vendsyssel Brønderslev, Hjørring, Hirtshals, Thisted, to Northbound exit, southbound entranceNørresundby N21Nørresundby, Lindholm Aalborg Airport, to Nørresundby C22 NørresundbyNorthbound exit, southbound entrance Limfjordstunnelen582 metres (1,909 ft) length. Max height 4,3mAalborg N23Aalborg, RørdalSouthbound exit, northbound entranceØ. Uttrup Vej24Aalborg, RørdalHumlebakken25Vejgaard, Aalborg ØSouthbound exit, northbound entranceTh. Sauers Vej26 AalborgAalborg C27AalborgNorthbound exit, southbound entranceAalborg S28 Aalborg, SkalborgRest area Dall/Limfjorden Restaurant on the west-sideSvenstrup29 Svenstrup, EllidshøjStøvring N30StøvringStøvring S31 Støvring, SørupService area Himmerland Sønderup32 Viborg, AarsSouthbound exit, northbound entranceHaverslev33 Haverslev, ArdenRest area Senhøj Hobro N34 HobroHobro V35 HobroOnsild36 Onsild, Viborg, MariagerHandest37 Handest, HobroRest area Glenshøj Purhus38Purhus, FårupRanders N39 Randers, HadsundRanders C40 Randers, ViborgRest area Gudenå Randers S42 RandersSønder Borup43 Grenaa, Ebeltoft, Sønder Borup, Hadsten, Sjællands OddeHadsten44 Hadsten, Ebeltoft, Grenaa Aarhus Airport Århus Nord Århus N, Grenaa, Ebeltoft, Skejby, Sjællands OddeÅrhus N46 Hinnerup, Lisbjerg Tilst47 Tilst, Viborg Tilst Viborg (planned)Rest area Pedersminde/Blankhøj Århus Vest Århus, Silkeborg, HerningÅrhus S49Århus, Hasselager Sjællands OddeSouthbound exit, northbound entranceHørning50Hørning, HasselagerSouthbound exit, northbound entrance Århus Syd Hasselager, Hørning, Viby J, Sjællands OddeNorthbound exit, southbound entranceSkanderborg N51 Skanderborg, StillingRest area Fuglsang Skanderborg V52 Skanderborg, Ry, OdderSkanderborg S53 Skanderborg, Østbirk, Nørre SnedeSouthbound exit, northbound entranceEjer Bavnehøj54Ejer Bavnehøj Horsens N55 Horsens, ØstbirkHorsens V56 Horsens, Juelsminde, SilkeborgHorsens C56bHorsens, HattingHorsens S57 Horsens, Odder, Billund Billund AirportRest area Merring/Nørremark Hedensted58Hedensted, LøsningHornstrup59 Hornstrup, Vejle N Vejle Herning, ViborgVejle N60 Vejle, JuelsmindeVejle C61a Vejle, Fredericia, BillundVejle S61bService area Skærup Skærup OdenseSouthbound exit, northbound entrance Kolding OdenseNorthbound exit, southbound entrance. Concurrency with beginsKolding Ø62 Kolding, Billund Billund AirportBramdrupdam63Bramdrupdam Kolding Vest64 Kolding, Varde, EsbjergConcurrency with endsRest area Hylkedal Kolding S65a Kolding, Vamdrup, TønderVonsild65bVonsildChristiansfeld66ChristiansfeldHaderslev N67HaderslevVojens68 Vojens, Ribe, Haderslev Vojens AirportService area Ustrup Haderslev S69 Haderslev, TønderRest area Øster Løgum Aabenraa N70 Aabenraa, Rødekro, RibeRest area Årslev Restaurant on east-sideAabenraa71 AabenraaSouthbound exit, northbound entrance Aabenraa S72 Aabenraa, Tinglev Kliplev Sønderborg, FynshavKliplev73 Kliplev, Tønder, Gråsten, Tinglev, RibeRest area Oksekær Kruså74Kruså, FlensburgSouthbound exit, northbound entranceBov75 Bov, Tønder, Padborg, Kruså, EgernsundPadborg76Padborg, FrøslevSouthbound exit, northbound entranceService area Frøslev Padborg76Padborg, FrøslevNorthbound 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 1,022 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, 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.
Although one has been proposed, there is no road connection across the Strait of Messina between Villa San Giovanni on the Italian mainland and Messina on the island of Sicily. There are frequent ferry services between the two ports.
Route
: Alta – Kautokeino – / border
: / border – Hetta – Palojoensuu : Palojoensuu – Kaaresuvanto : Kaaresuvanto – / border
: Karesuando – Svappavaara (Start of Concurrency with ) – Gällivare (End of Concurrency with ) – Arvidsjaur – Storuman (Start of Concurrency with ) – Stensele (End of Concurrency with ) – Håxås – Östersund (Start of Concurrency with ) – Brunflo (End of Concurrency with ) – Sveg – Mora – Malung (Start of Concurrency with ) – Stöllet – Önneby – Torsby (End of Concurrency with ) – Vålberg – Åmål – Trollhättan – Gothenburg Gothenburg – Fredrikshavn
: Fredrikshavn – Aalborg – Randers – Aarhus – Horsens – Vejle – Kolding – Haderslev – Aabenraa – / border
: / border – Flensburg – Neumünster – Hamburg – Hanover – Hildesheim - Göttingen – Kassel – Fulda – Würzburg : Würzburg – Nuremberg : Nuremberg – Ingolstadt – Munich : Munich : Munich – Rosenheim : Rosenheim – / border
: / border – Kufstein – Wörgl (Start of Concurrency with ) – Wiesing – Innsbruck (End of Concurrency with ) : Innsbruck – Matrei am Brenner – / border
: / border – Brennero – Vipiteno – Bolzano – Trento – Rovereto – Verona – Mantua – Modena (Start of Concurrency with ) : Modena – La Stanga (End of Concurrency with ) : La Stanga – Bologna – Cesena : Cesena – San Piero in Bagno – Sansepolcro – Città di Castello - Umbertide – Perugia – Todi – Terni : Terni – Narni – Orte : Orte – Nazzano – Monterotondo – Frosinone – Caserta – Afragola – Casalnuovo di Napoli – Casoria – Naples : Naples – Pompeii – Salerno : Salerno – Battipaglia – Cosenza – Vibo Valentia – Villa San Giovanni Villa San Giovanni – Messina : Messina – Taormina – Giarre – Catania : Catania : Catania – Mungina – Augusta : Augusta – Melilli – Syracuse : Syracuse – Noto – Rosolini – Rosolini – Modica – Ragusa – Comiso – Gela
References
External links
UN Economic Commission for Europe: Overall Map of E-road Network (2007)