Belgium | Area code 32 | Common abbreviation B | Last updated 25-3-2007 | |||
| Road class | Syntax explanation | Administrative subordination | Sub classes | Zones | System | Remarks |
| European road | E[0-9]<2-3> | Europe | (see Europe) | A numbers of E roads appear only on small signs | ||
| Motorway (autoroute /autosnelweg) | A[0-9]<1-3>{a} | national | 1/2-d (main) | Spider-web clockwise | Exit numbers: sequential | |
| 3-d | defined by first digit (same for A and B) | |||||
| Connection between motorway and other road | (B[0-9]<3>) | national | On kilometer posts | |||
| Ring road | R[0-9]<1-2>{[a-d]} | national | Sequential | R0 around Bruxelles | ||
| National road | N[0-9]<1-3>{[a-z]} | national | 1-d (main radial) | Defined by first digit | Spider-web clockwise | |
| 2-d (other main) | ||||||
| 3-d (secondary) | ||||||
| Provincial road | P[0-9]<1-3> | province | ||||
| General description:
Motorways: Numbers A1-A10 evolve in clockwise order from Brussels (the A1 is to the north). Other 2-d numbers beginning with 1 are generally in the west and the ones beginning with 2 are in the east. There is only one other 2-d number: the A54 linking Charleroi to the A7. Some A numbers are also assigned to ordinary dual carriageways: the A11 has many level crossings (it is also numbered N49) and the A12 has some sections with level crossings. The number A28 is also rumoured to be used for a section of the N81 with level crossings but this is not confirmed. Ring roads: The R0 is the ring road around Brussels. The lowest R numbers are motorways or motorway-like roads. Higher numbers are often dual carriageways. The higher the number, the less important the road. | ||||||
| Zones for 2- and 3-digit N roads and for 3-digit A and B numbers roughly correspond to provinces as follows: | ||||||
| 1 | Antwerpen (Antwerp) | |||||
| 2 | Brabant/Bruxelles | |||||
| 3 | West-Vlaanderen (West Flanders) | |||||
| 4 | Oost-Vlaanderen (East Flanders) | |||||
| 5 | Hainaut | |||||
| 6 | Liège | |||||
| 7 | Limburg | |||||
| 8 | Luxembourg | |||||
| 9 | Namur | |||||
| National roads: The N1 runs from Brussels to Antwerp and further to the Dutch border. The N2 goes to Maastricht and the N1-N9 form a spider-web.
The zones above do not apply to 2-digit N numbers ending in 0: these are the main lateral roads. The N10 connects the N1 and N2, the N20 the N2 and N3 etc. but this does not continue all the way to the N90.
Provincial roads are rarely signposted. | ||||||
| Road signs | ||||||
| Road type | Background | Text | Road numbers | |||
| Class | Shape | Background | Text | |||
| Main roads | Blue | White | A,R | Rectangle | White | Black |
| N | Rectangle | Blue | White | |||
| Local roads | White | Black | None | |||
| History: The system was changed around 1986, simultaneously with the introduction of the new European road numbering system. The previous sytem was similar, with numbers 1 to 5 the same as now. The old system already existed around 1940. | ||||||
Sources and links: Various maps and atlases, personal experience
Official sites: | ||||||