Slovakia

Slovakia		Area code 421	Common abbreviation SK		Last updated 12-8-2007
Road class	Syntax explanation	Administrative subordination	Sub classes	Zones	System	Remarks
European road	E[0-9]<2-3>	Europe	See Europe
Motorway (dial'nica)	D[1-4]	national			Sequential	Exit numbers by kilometers
Expressway (rýchlostná cesta)	R[1-7]	national			Sequential
National road (cesta I./II. triedy)	2;[0-9]<2-3>{Z}	national	1-/2-d	determined by first digit of 3-d numbers
National road (cesta I./II. triedy)	2;[0-9]<2-3>{Z}	national	3-d	determined by first digit of 3-d numbers
Local road (cesta III. triedy)	([0-9]<4-5>)	national	4-d		derivation
Local road (cesta III. triedy)	([0-9]<4-5>)	national	5-d		derivation
Ring road	I<1-2>	city			increasing from centre
General description: There are only four motorway numbers: The D1 used to be part of the former Czechoslovak route from Praha (Prague) to the Ukranian border. It now starts in Bratislava. Only some sections in Slovakia have been built. The rest is under construction or planned. The D2 runs from the Czech border (from Brno) via Bratislava to the Hungarian border (a small section near Bratislava is still missing). This road is parallel to national road 2 along its entire length. The D3 will link the D1 to the Polish A1. It runs parallel to routes 11 and 487. The D4 is a short link between the D2 and the Austrian border. Expressways are dual carriageways with motorway characteristics. An extensive network is planned but only some sections of the R1, R2 and R6 are open so far.
National roads: There is only one 1-digit number (2). Most 2-digit numbers begin with 5, 6 or 7. All 3-digit numbers begin with 4 or 5: only a tiny part of Slovakia is in zone 4, the rest of the country is zone 5. This is because most of the other numbers are in the Czech Republic, and the former Czechoslovak system has only been changed slightly in Slovakia. Roads with 1- and 2-digit numbers are known as First class roads (cesty I. triedy), 3-digit numbers as Second class roads (cesty II. triedy) and local roads with 4- or 5-digit numbers as Third class roads (cesty III. triedy). The suffix Z stands for 'zapad' (west). Ring roads appear only in some major cities.
Road signs (similar to the Czech Republic):
Road/destination type	Background	Text	Road numbers
Road/destination type	Background	Text	Class	Shape	Background	Text
Motorways	Green	White	D	Rectangle	Red	White
All roads	Blue	White	National	Rectangle	Blue	White
Local destinations	White	Black	Ring		White	Black
History: The Czech Republic and Slovakia used to have one road numbering system (when they formed Czechoslovakia). However, there was one important difference: In the Czech Republic, D, R and other roads formed an integrated system. When a new road was built, the number of the old road was increased by 600. In Slovakia, routes x and Dx could be parallel, and they still can, see motorways above. In the late 1990's, some numbers in the Czech Republic were replaced by numbers that also exist in Slovakia (59 - 70). Therefore one can no longer say that these countries have one common system. Around 2000, the D61 was changed to D1 (D4 south of Bratislava) and the (planned) D18 became the D3. Also, R numbers were introduced for motorway-like dual carriageways. In september 2003, some road numbers were changed:
Old number	New number	Section
487	12	Svrcinovec - Skalité - PL (944)
557	15	Strocín (73) - Stropkov - Sedliská (558)
558	15	Sedliská - Vranov nad Toplou (18)
577	14	Dolná Štubna (65) - Harmanec (59)
586	13	Velký Meder (63) - Medvedov - H (14)
Sources: various maps and atlases, SSC Official sites: The State Fund for Road Economy Slovenská správa ciest (SSC) Slovak road administration Other links: Highways and tunnels in Slovakia Other pages within this site: Discussion forum about roads in Slovakia Cestnaspol Slovak Road Association Road sign colours Europe

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