2x5+ highways, are there (m)any in your country? (Europe)

[CborG]

In Holland we have A4 (http://maps.google.nl/?ie=UTF8&z=18&ll=52.278815,4.713934&spn=0.001611,0.003648&t=k&om=1) only for a reasonable distance. In 2010 the A2 (http://maps.google.nl/?ie=UTF8&om=1&z=18&ll=52.20667,4.986854&spn=0.001614,0.003648&t=k) will be finished with 2x5 from Amsterdam to Utrecht.

South of Utrecht the is a small section with 6 lanes next to each other:

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/6636/6baansvj3.jpg

[ChrisZwolle]

On the A9, there are 2x5 lanes between Haarlem-Zuid and Interchange Raasdorp, but 2 of those lanes are weaving lanes. (very long exit lanes).

That section you mentioned 6 lanes, is actually west of Utrecht, on the A12.

[nothingman]

Glasgow and Belfast in the UK have 5 lane freeways. Also, I believe that some of the M25 in London is 5-6 lanes each direction.

[Nephasto]

Let's just consider the trunk lanes. Not weaving lanes, like Chris refered.

Here in Portugal there aren't any... I don't think it's even allowed to build freeways more than 4 lanes wide (that is in the central trunk section... there may be more lanes, but just weaving lanes, etc...).

There aren't any in Spain either, and there I'm sure it's not allowed to build more than 4 lanes in the trunk section.
Although you can have things like this:
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/7919/salidaa33iw.jpg

But the basic section of this freeway (Madrid's M30) is 3+3+3+3 I think... 4 lanes at max, for each carrigeway. Not 6+6 for example, because that wouldn't be allowed.

[ChrisZwolle]

Well, with 2x5 lanes, you need a very high traffic intensity, let say; above 150.000/180.000 vehicles a day. There isn't by example almost none of them having such intensity in Germany, so they don't have 2x5 lanes as far as i know.

[Nephasto]

^^Well, you have those amounts of trafic in city motorway sometimes.
Like the example I cited above, of Madrid's M30.
But as more than 4 lanes aren't allowed, they opted for 3+3+3+3, which is much better and with a has a higher capacity than for example 6+6.

[arriaca]

Let's just consider the trunk lanes. Not weaving lanes, like Chris refered.

Here in Portugal there aren't any... I don't think it's even allowed to build freeways more than 4 lanes wide (that is in the central trunk section... there may be more lanes, but just weaving lanes, etc...).



You are right, in Spanish highways is not allowed more than 4 lanes wide, because never use the right lane :lol:



PD mi inglés acaba aquí... la normativa recomienda en caso necesario construir vías de servicio en los laterales si es necesario más de cuatro carriles por sentido

[ChrisZwolle]

^^Well, you have those amounts of trafic in city motorway sometimes.
Like the example I cited above, of Madrid's M30.
But as more than 4 lanes aren't allowed, they opted for 3+3+3+3, which is much better and with a has a higher capacity than for example 6+6.

Well, that's quite an example ;)

Madrid's ringroads are among the busiest in Europe, together with the MKAD, the Moscow beltway which over it's total length 2x5 lanes.
Than next is the bridge over the Meuse near Rotterdam, and the London Orbital road, and some roads around Paris.

German motorways are definatly not extremely busy, comparing to other European countries.

[Nephasto]

In Holland we have A4 (http://maps.google.nl/?ie=UTF8&z=18&ll=52.278815,4.713934&spn=0.001611,0.003648&t=k&om=1) only for a reasonable distance. In 2010 the A2 (http://maps.google.nl/?ie=UTF8&om=1&z=18&ll=52.20667,4.986854&spn=0.001614,0.003648&t=k) will be finished with 2x5 from Amsterdam to Utrecht.

That small stretch in the dutch A4 (a bit more than 8 km's) is the only motorway in Europe I know with more than 4 lanes(in the trunk section) in each direction.
I'm not counting Moscow's MKAD as it's an urban motorway, and I'm not sure if it even has real motorway standards.

[Des]

I'm not counting Moscow's MKAD as it's an urban motorway, and I'm not sure if it even has real motorway standards.

The 5 lane highway looks quite real to me:

http://www.gtspirit.com/2005/11/02/m5-vs-rs4-on-the-moscow-ringroad/

[Nephasto]

^^I'm not saying it's not 5 lane! It obviously is!

It does quallify, it's just that it's urban, unlike the dutch A4 stretch.

[nothingman]

That small stretch in the dutch A4 (a bit more than 8 km's) is the only motorway in Europe I know with more than 4 lanes(in the trunk section) in each direction.
I'm not counting Moscow's MKAD as it's an urban motorway, and I'm not sure if it even has real motorway standards.

No, the UK has a few too.

Take the M8 in Glasgow, for instance:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y124/the_boy_david/10Lanesss.jpg

(from the Glasgow forum)

[nothingman]

M25 near London:

http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/gallery/albums/userpics/10240/m25j15north.jpg

http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/gallery/albums/userpics/10577/DSCN0538.jpg

[nothingman]

M2 in Belfast (the only one I could find), also 2x5 lanes for long stretches:

http://www.iht.org/motorway/m2foreshore.jpg

[ChrisZwolle]

^^I'm not saying it's not 5 lane! It obviously is!

It does quallify, it's just that it's urban, unlike the dutch A4 stretch.

I heard they banned all slow traffic and traffic lights on the MKAD a few years ago, so it should be a real motorway now. But i guess they have still those old short offramps etc, but hey, they have them in Germany too ;)

[Nephasto]

^^Yes, for what I've seenm in Google Earth, it's a complete freeway.

Thank's for the info nothingman. :okay:

[coth]

^^I'm not saying it's not 5 lane! It obviously is!

It does quallify, it's just that it's urban, unlike the dutch A4 stretch.

it is real motorway, so as 3TK.
officially it is street of course because of city and federal standards that put all roads within city boundaries in a street category.

here is you can see as of 2003
dark orange are rural/suburban motorways and light orange are urban motorways
http://maps.google.com/?q=moscow&ie=UTF8&z=8&ll=55.388472,37.913818&spn=2.084399,6.536865&om=1


@Chris1491
there has been never any lights on MKAD. there was few lights on 3TK but all was removed now afaik

[drimer]

Not in Europe but in Argentina we have a 2x5 highway...
its named "Autopista panamericana" or "Acceso Norte" (Panamerican Highway or North Acces)..
http://www.ausol.com.ar/archivofotografico/FotosGrandes/fotog16.jpg

http://www.ausol.com.ar/archivofotografico/FotosGrandes/fotog13.jpg

It's 2x6 near the city centre..
http://www.ausol.com.ar//Historia/LaObra/FotosGrandes/SanMartin/3.jpg

[Alex Von Königsberg]

I guess when a motorway is too wide (>4 lanes) it doesn't look æsthetically pleasant anymore. Nevertheless, I wish we had such monstrous motorways over here in California because our current freeways can't hold large mount of traffic. They literally turn into parking lots during rush hours :ohno:

[SE9]

M25 near London:

http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/gallery/albums/userpics/10240/m25j15north.jpg

http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/gallery/albums/userpics/10577/DSCN0538.jpg

Ah yes... this stretch is to the West of London, near the M4 interchange.

[SE9]

This stretch of London's M25 orbital has 6 lanes each way:

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/1547/m25fg8.jpg

[ChrisZwolle]

How long is that part?

[ChrisH]

How long is that part?

Only a couple of km. There is a stretch of about 20km that is 5+5 now though, and about 100km of 4+4. In the next few years the whole of the M25 (200km) will become at least 4+4.

[jchernin]

I guess when a motorway is too wide (>4 lanes) it doesn't look æsthetically pleasant anymore. Nevertheless, I wish we had such monstrous motorways over here in California because our current freeways can't hold large mount of traffic. They literally turn into parking lots during rush hours :ohno:

the reason they "seperate" freeway lanes (by creating a trunk section and an outer section) is to make the freeway more efficient. After approx 5-6 lanes the efficiency of each new lane decreases due to people having to navigate (or should i say weave) thru so many lanes just to exit.

there are plans to build such a freeway config in san diego on the 5, but i know little of the project.

its depressing to see big freeways even in europe. sigh :ohno:

[Alex Von Königsberg]

the reason they "seperate" freeway lanes (by creating a trunk section and an outer section) is to make the freeway more efficient. After approx 5-6 lanes the efficiency of each new lane decreases due to people having to navigate (or should i say weave) thru so many lanes just to exit.
I agree. I also think it would be useful to have US freeways separated in the same manner European and South American motorways are. For instance, vacating at least two left-most lanes only for those "tourists" who are passing through. This way, local drivers will not be able to use those lanes and conjest them during rush hour. I know that it would make a lot of sense in case of I-5 and I-80 that both run through Sacramento.

[Metropolitan]

The A4 motorway in Paris Southwest is 2x5 lanes during a dozen kilometers:

http://grandparis.free.fr/A4.jpg


And just like what we can find in Madrid, the A6 motorway in Southern Paris is 4x3 lanes also during several kilometers:

http://grandparis.free.fr/A6.jpg

Afterwards, we can find some small portions on the A1, the A3 or the A86 which are 2x5 lanes, but they aren't generally very long. That's mostly the case when several highways merge. I guess we can find that kind of small portions everywhere in Europe.

Here is an example of what I mention that we can find on the A1 motorway in Northern Paris:

http://grandparis.free.fr/A1.jpg

[sjon]

here is a picture of the A2 near Utrecht
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/3752/snelweg2us6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/6453/snelweg1xh9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

the rest of this higways is 2x5
its ready between 2010-2012

[Rohne]

This stretch of London's M25 orbital has 6 lanes each way:

image of M25


If this counts, the A5 south of the Frankfurter Kreuz should count too:

http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/4117/fkreuzhk2.jpg

Also the A3 east of the Frankfurter Kreuz.
But i believe there are sections of this kind all over europe...

But north of the Frankfurter Kreuz, its planned to upgrade the A5 from 2x4 to 2x6 lanes. But they will be divided: either 2+3+3+2 (like A12 near Utrecht) or 3+3+3+3 or 2+4+4+2.

The reason for dividing motorways isnt that it would be forbidden to have more than 4 lanes each direction, but to divide trunk traffic from local traffic. so the inner lanes normally have fewer exits than the outer lanes.

[beto_chaves]

Let's just consider the trunk lanes. Not weaving lanes, like Chris refered.

Here in Portugal there aren't any... I don't think it's even allowed to build freeways more than 4 lanes wide (that is in the central trunk section... there may be more lanes, but just weaving lanes, etc...).

There aren't any in Spain either, and there I'm sure it's not allowed to build more than 4 lanes in the trunk section.
Although you can have things like this:
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/7919/salidaa33iw.jpg

But the basic section of this freeway (Madrid's M30) is 3+3+3+3 I think... 4 lanes at max, for each carrigeway. Not 6+6 for example, because that wouldn't be allowed.


WRONG! Theres are some freeways with more than 4 lanes wide. For example, A3 (Porto - Braga Highway) has 5 lanes before the conecction to A4 (Porto - Amarante Highway)

[Nephasto]

^^Not 5 trunk lanes... There are some sections near some junctions which may have more than 4, but some are weaving lanes, etc... That doesn't count, as I've said.

[Tom 958]

Edit-- didn't see "Europe"