Switzerland

Switzerland including Liechtenstein		Area code 41	Common abbreviation CH		Last updated 9-9-2007
Road class	Syntax explanation	Administrative subordination	Sub classes	Zones	System	Remarks
European road	E[0-9]<2>	Europe	See Europe
Motorway (Autobahn/Autoroute/ Autostrada)	(A)[0-9]<1-2>{a;.1}	national	1-16		sequential	Exit numbers: sequential
			50-53			mainly Cantonal
Main road (Hauptstrasse/ Route principale)	[0-9]<1-2>{[ab]}	national	1-/2-d
Administrative numbers: These never appears on signs.
National highway (Nationalstrasse/ Route Nationale)	N[0-9]<1-2>{[a-c];.1}	national
Main road (Hauptstrasse/ Route principale)	({[AJT]}[0-9]<1-2>{[ab]}); ({[AJT]}[0-9]<3>{.[1-6]})	national	1-/2-d			1-30
			101-499	increasing to the east
			501-599
In addition, roads have cantonal numbers in some cantons.
Kantonsstrasse/ Route Cantonale	({K}[0-9]<1-3>{[a-e]})	cantonal	see region table
General description: Motorways: The network contains single carriageways (second class motorways or motor traffic roads). The most significant difference between the A and N systems lies in the representation of concurrent numbers: if two numbers follow the same route, both A numbers are displayed on signs, while only one N number was used before (N numbers hardly ever appeared on signs).
Usually a signposted number Ax corresponds to an administrative number Nx. Exceptions are:
A-number (usually signposted)	Administrative	Section		Remarks
A1	N1a/N10	Genève bypass
A1/A4	N1c/N20	Entire N1c
A2/A3	N2	Basel-Liestal		The (A)3 will be linked to the German A861 in 2006
A6	T6	Schönbühl-Biel
A50	T7	Entire A50		Signposted as Hauptstrasse 7
A51	N1b/N11	Entire N1b
A52	-	Entire road		Cantonal only
A53	-	Entire road
There are some motorways with two national administrative numbers. The suffixed number is probably older.
Suffixed number	Unsuffixed number	Description
N1a	N10	Genève (Geneva) bypass
N1b	N11	Link from N1 to Kloten airport
N1c	N20	Zürich bypass
N4a	N40	Link between N4 and Hauptstrasse T4
N4b	N41	Link between N4 and German A81 (planned, 11 km)
Hauptstrassen: Only 1- and 2-digit numbers (up to 30) appear on signs. Suffixes can be either a or b. Administrative numbers for Hauptstrassen which are signposted are the same or have prefix A, J or T. The designations A (Alp road, Alpenstrasse, Route alpestre), J (Jura road, Jurastrasse, Route du Jura) and T (Valley road, Talstrasse, Route de pleine) determine federal/cantonal funding percentages. A and J roads have the highest federal funding levels. Roads without A, J or T are Cantonal roads. Many roads have different designations on sections. For example, most of route 7 is just 7, but one part is J7 and another part is T7. Note that there is a motorway A8 and an Alpenstrasse (A)8, but this is not confusing since the numbers are indicated differently. Both Hauptstrassen and Cantonal road numbers can have any number of digits (up to 3). Most motorways with numbers under 50 have roughly the same route as the Hauptstrasse with the same number (e.g. A2 and Hauptstrasse 2). Exceptions are A7, A14 and A16. 3-digit numbers can have suffixes consisting of one digit (separated from the rest of the number by a dot). 3-digit numbers over 500 denote roads which are accessible only to vehicles of less than 2.30 m width. Some of them are part of another road:
Road	Part of
511	A19
526	248.4
556	A17
558	13
Hauptstrassen can also have a separate cantonal number. Examples:
Signposted	Administrative numbers
	National	Cantonal	Section		Remarks
4	Hauptstrasse 4	K17	Luzern-Rotkreuz
-	Hauptstrasse 295	K275	Baden-Wettingen-Zürich
10	T10	K10	Wolhusen-Littau		Green signs
19	Hauptstrasse 511	unknown	Furkapass		Possibly other cantonal number
Road signs: E and A numbers only appear at important junctions, mostly on signs above the road, and on signs indicating distances (after junctions).
Road/destination type	Background	Text	Road numbers
			Class	Shape	Background	Text
Motorways	Green	White	A	As in Germany	Red	White
Other roads	Blue	White	Hauptstrassen	Rectangle	Blue	White
Local destinations	White	Black	None
One of the few signs with N numbers (late 1980's, replaced in the 1990's by a sign indicating just a motorway symbol instead of N1/N7)
N and J numbers sometimes appear on km posts, e.g. N2 and J18.
History:
Motorways: The first Swiss motorway, a 4 km section of the N2 south of Luzern, was opened in 1955. In the next ten years, very few motorways were opened, most were built in the 1970's. In 1996, the former N numbering system was replaced by a new system of A numbers. Most digits stayed the same, but some were changed. The higher numbers 50-53 were assigned to Cantonal motorways near Zürich. The N numbers (Nationalstrassen/Routes Nationales) are retained as an administrative system. In 2003 there were still a few signs with N numbers. It is planned to complete all missing Nationalstrassen by 2019 (most of them as full motorways). Exit numbering used to exist only in Basel, with low numbers increasing to the north so they could not be extended along the rest of the road. A new system was introduced probably in 2003, with sequential numbers and symbols similar to those in France and Austria. Main roads: The old system of numbered roads was sequential: main roads were given low numbers, and the higher the number, the less important the road. Higher numbers were added over the years: in 1953, the highest number was 154, in 1965, it was 174. An old sign with a 3-d number In 1975, many numbers were changed, so that all main roads received numbers under 31 (suffixes a and b were added in two cases). For example:
Old number	New number	Section
11	20	Neuchâtel - La-Chaux-de-Fonds - France
20	11	Entire road except near Château-d'Oex
31	14	Frauenfeld - Schaffhausen
32	14	Entire road
76	11	Entire road		Shortcut for old route 20
77	11	Entire road
98	30	Entire road
108	30	Entire road
127	2b	Entire road
132	2a	Entire road
All other roads were given 3-digit numbers which are never signposted. Note that Switzerland is probably the only country in the world where the network of roads with signposted numbers was much more dense in 1970 than in 2000.
In principle, the system extends to Liechtenstein, but the numbers are never signposted there.
Sources and links: Various maps and atlases, personal experience Official sites: Bundesamt für Strassen Verkehrsdaten Belastungskarte 2005 Route lists: Nationalstrassen Hauptstrassen Specific roads: A1 in canton Fribourg Basel Nordtangente (A3) Pictures A4 N4.2.1/2/3 Miniautobahn Andelfingen - Flurlingen A8 in Obwalden A9 in canton Valais A12 in canton Fribourg Stadttangente Bern A1 F21 Frauenfeld Other links: Autobahnen.ch contains links to most motorways Motorway exit lists City maps Road types Motorway pictures Very large number of pictures. Click on the signs above the pictures to follow the roads. Motorway rest areas with overview of all exits (contains some errors). Other pages within this site: Europe Cantonal routes (preliminary version) Pictures: Road pictures Switzerland Motorway road signs (under construction) A1.htm A2.htm A3.htm A4.htm A5.htm A6.htm A7.htm A8.htm A9.htm A12.htm A13.htm A14.htm A16.htm A50.htm A51.htm A52.htm A53.htm Martigny bypass Route 20

Region table

Canton	Syntax	System		Remarks
Aargau	K[1-4][0-9]<2>
Basel-Land	K[0-9]<1-2>	Sequential
Fribourg	RC[0-9]<3>	unknown
Genève	[0-9]<1-2>	Sequential
Jura	[0-9]<4>	unknown
Luzern	K[0-9]<1-2>{[a-c]}	Sequential		Hauptstrassen with T and A numbers have the same K number, e.g. T10 = K10.
Neuchâtel	[123][123][0-9]<1-2>	Sub classes:		Hauptstrassen with 1- and 2-digit numbers do not have cantonal numbers.
		3-d	Link roads (routes de liasions)	Number is the same as the Hauptstrassennumber, e.g. H170 = Cantonal route 170.
		4-d beginning with 1	First class collector roads	The second digit indicates maintenance areas (Divisions d'entretien), e.g. numbers 1162, 2187 and 3103 are in zone 1.
		4-d beginning with 2 or 3	Second class collector roads
Sankt Gallen	[0-9]<1-2>	Subclasses: 1-d / 2-d
Solothurn				Only municipalities numbered
Vaud	[0-9]<1-3>[a-d]	Every road number has a suffix a, b, c or d, indicating the sub class:
		a	Principal highways first class	Most roads have sections of different classes. For example, route 54 consists of routes 54b, 54c and 54d. Route 151 is the only one which has sub sections of all four classes.
		b	Principal highways second class
		c	Main secondary roads
		d	Other secondary roads
Zug	[0-9]<1-3>{[a-h]}	Hauptstrassen	Numbers are identical to Hauptstrassennumbers, but most routes are split into sections by adding a letter. E.g. H368 consists of Cantonal roads 368a and 368b.
Zug	[A-U]	Other roads
Zürich	K[0-9]<1-2>	unknown		A53 = K53

Route list (preliminary version)
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