Finland | Area code 358 | Common abbreviation FIN | Last updated 8-3-2008 |
| Road class | Syntax explanation | Administrative subordination | Sub classes | Zones | System | Remarks |
| European road | E[0-9]<2-3> | Europe | See Europe |
| Main road 1st class (Valtatie) | (Vt)[0-9]<1-2> | national | | | spider-web | 1-28 |
| Main road 2nd class (Kantatie) | (Kt)[0-9]<2> | national | | | some clustering | 40-93 |
| Other numbered road (Maantie) | (Mt)[0-9]<3-4> | national | 3-d (seututie) | Determined by first digit of Maantie numbers and second digit of local road numbers | some clustering | |
| 4-d (yhdystie) |
| Local road (Paikallistie) | (Pt1[0-9]<4>) | national |
| Ring road | Kehä/Ring I<1-3> | Helsinki | | | sequential |
| The Åland Islands have their own separate road numbering system, with numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4,
and some 2- and 3-digit numbers. |
General description:
Numbers 1-7 radiate in clockwise order from Helsinki, 8-10 from Turku and 11-12 from Tampere. Originally, roads 13-15 radiated from Viipuri (now Vyborg in Russia).
Zones for 3- to 5-digit numbers generally increase in northbound direction. 4-d numbers are often dervied from 3-d numbers by adding a digit at the end.
For example, 5511, 5512, 5513, 5514, 5516 and 5517 are all near 551.
When a new road with a one digit number x is built, the old road gets number 100+10x. For example, route 3 is replaced by 130. This system is only used in the south.
When a small section of new motorway or motor-traffic road is not yet part of a main route, it temporarily gets a 4-digit number. This is not signposted. An example is 1186, which will become part of route 1/E18.
Exit numbers were introduced in 2002 on Vt 1, 3, 4 and 7.
40, 50 and the former 60 are ring roads/bypasses near Turku, Helsinki and Tampere, respectively. They all have E numbers. Since 60 also had other national numbers along its entire length, it was removed around 2000.
For a route list see Route list.
There are ring roads around Helsinki, with roman numerals. There are only three, of which one is under construction and they all coincide entirely with a road with a national number. Since they are all in the area where Finnish is the main language but there is a large Swedish minority, numbers appear as Kehä/Ring I etc.
Ring numbers increase away from Helsinki. |
| Ring | Same as | Remarks |
| Kehä/Ring I | Mt101 | Dual carriageway, partly with motorway characteristics |
| Kehä/Ring II | Mt102 | Dual/single carriageway with motorway characteristics between Mt110 |
| Kehä/Ring III | Kt50 | Partly E18 |
| Road signs: Indirect references to road numbers appear in a dashed rectangle (as in Iceland and sometimes in Germany), see the first sign below. |
| Road/destination type | Background | Text | Road numbers (not related to road/destination type) |
| Class | Shape | Background | Text |
| Motorways and motor-traffic roads | Green | White | Vt | Rectangle | Red | White |
| Kt | Rectangle | Yellow | Black |
| Other roads | Blue | White | Mt 3-d | Rectangle | White | Black |
| Local destinations | White | Black | Mt 4-d | Rectangle | Blue | White |
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| Language: Not taking into account the far north, where Lap languages are spoken, there are four different kinds of areas: |
| Languages | Signs |
| Finnish is the main language | Finnish only |
| Finnish is the main language but there is a large Swedish speaking minority | Finnish on top, Swedish below |
| Swedish is the main language but there is a large Finnish speaking minority | Swedish on top, Finnish below |
| Swedish is the main language | Swedish only |
| Helsinki is in the second category, see the first picture above. Most of the country is Finnish speaking only, and Swedish areas are all near the coast. |
History:
The road numbering system was created in 1933 and signposted in 1938. (Source: Touko Perko: The History of Roads in Finland, vol II)
The new system of E roads was introduced in June 1992. At the same time, many main roads (Vt/Kt) were also renumbered.
The most important change is the rerouting of Vt4 between Lahti and Jyväskylä via Heinola and the former Kt59. The old route to Jämsä was changed to Vt24.
Previously, the highest Vt number was 23.
Numbers 1-7 were originally all signposted all the way from Helsinki. Nowadays only routes 1, 3, 4 and 7 start in Helsinki. 2 is signposted only from the junction where it branches off 1. 5 is indicated on 4 northbound in a dashed rectangle from Lahti onwards (about 40 km before it branches off 4), and 6 is only signposted from Koskenkylä.
In the 1990's, many 3-d numbers have been downgraded by adding a zero at the end. For example, 874 became 8740. Some roads
have been upgraded (e.g. 9703 became 970 and 909 became 89).
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Sources and links: various maps and atlases, personal experience
Official sites:
- Finnish National Road Administration
- Travel and traffic information
- National Land Survey of Finland
Other links:
- Genimap
- Travel and traffic information
Other pages within this site:
- Road sign colours
- Europe
- Route list
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