# Exit density in your country



## Aphelion (May 29, 2010)

How is the exit density in your country? I get the feeling Sweden has quite short distances between exits, even on rural motorways/expressways, while France seems to have longer distances.


----------



## x-type (Aug 19, 2005)

HR - depends of motorway. A1, A3, A5 have cca 20-25 km distances roughly, other have 10-15 km distances.


----------



## Spookvlieger (Jul 10, 2009)

Pretty dense in the nothern part <10km between every exit, less dense in the south but still you will vind them like every 15km.

Especially around cities very dense where exits are sometimes less then a kilometer apart serving all midievel roads that radiate outwards from the center.


----------



## jeremiash (Apr 4, 2011)

We in Poland have guidelines (laws) that regulate the distances between exits. On motorways that distance has to be atleast 15 km, or 5 km close to big cities, OR, in certain circumstances, if the need arises those distances can be lowered to 5 km and 3 km accordingly. I find these distances a little too big.
The distances on expressways are way more appropriate in my eyes. Atleast 5 km, or 3 km close to big cities, or 3km and 1.5km accordingly if necessary.

edit: some older motorways have shorter intervals, but all new ones comply with the regulations.


----------



## julesstoop (Sep 11, 2002)

Exit density in the Netherlands is generally very high, probably often too high. For an average highway (with which I mean a specific road with a single designated A-number) over it's entire length the average distance between exits is very often below 5 km's, in the western part of the country, on some highways this number gets as low as one exit per 1,5 km (e.g. A10 ring road Amsterdam). 

Obviously the density is higher near cities. Most medium sized cities (pop. 100,000-200.000) have 2 to 4 exits per highway (most cities are flanked by at least two highways). As our cities are pretty compact, the average distance between those exits is often below 3 km's. But even for towns as small as 15.000 inhabitants - if near a highway - it's not uncommon to have two exits. As the whole country is densely populated, I reckon you'd be hard pressed to find an exit on any highway in NL with nearest exit or junction over 10-15 km's away.


----------



## ed110220 (Nov 12, 2008)

In South Africa it depends heavily on the nature of the freeway - in urban areas some exits can be less than 1km apart and in rural ones sometimes more than 30km apart. However, as most freeways are urban/suburban in nature, mostly the exits are quite close together. 

In urban areas freeways have mostly been cut through existing road networks and closely spaced exits are necessary to make the freeway useful to commuter traffic, but at the clost of increased weaving.


----------



## Suburbanist (Dec 25, 2009)

julesstoop said:


> Obviously the density is higher near cities. Most medium sized cities (pop. 100,000-200.000) have 2 to 4 exits per highway (most cities are flanked by at least two highways). As our cities are pretty compact, the average distance between those exits is often below 3 km's. But even for towns as small as 15.000 inhabitants - if near a highway - it's not uncommon to have two exits. As the whole country is densely populated, I reckon you'd be hard pressed to find an exit on any highway in NL with nearest exit or junction over 10-15 km's away.


Afluisttidjk (A7), 25 km between afrit 14 and the unnumbered exit at Lorentzsluiten


----------



## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

I once calculated the average Dutch nationwide exit density is 3.3 kilometers between each exit.


----------



## Aphelion (May 29, 2010)

Once built out to motorway/expressway, the swedish E22 between Malmö and Karlskrona will have roughly 50 exits spread out on about 200 kilometres... that's an average of 2,5 kilometres between exits!


----------



## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

^^ That is typical for roads that were later retrofitted to motorways... high exit density, often incomplete exits that you can only take from one direction. Spain is a prime example, even though their rural areas have a very low population density, Spanish Autovías have an extremely high exit density.

Spanish A-1 between Madrid and Burgos is 230 kilometers long at has 75 exits, one every 3.1 km, even though it serves like 3 cities larger than 20 000 inhabitants.


----------



## Aphelion (May 29, 2010)

^^ Actually, not that much of the stretch I mentioned is a retrofitted older road. For example, the 2+1 expressway between exits 49 and 58 was built between 1964 and 1975. Motorways have been built sporadically, mostly in new alignment due to the old road passing straight through villages.


----------



## Suburbanist (Dec 25, 2009)

I kinda like highways with looong sectors without exits, like Florida Turnpike or the Portuguese Lisboa-Porto highway.


----------



## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

The longest distance between two exits in Europe is 46 kilometers on AP-2 between Zaragoza and Lleida, Spain.


----------



## Suburbanist (Dec 25, 2009)

In US, the longest closed-access sector on the Interstate System is reported to be 37 miles long, in I-80 between Wendover and Knolls. If you consider all US controlled-access highways, the distinction goes to Fl. Turnpike (47 miles) between exists 193 (Kenansvillle) and 240 (Kissimmee)

===
btw: what a weird, weird name of a city is _ Kissimmee_. I keep wondering how it is pronounced.


----------



## MattiG (Feb 11, 2011)

The distance between exits in rural motorways in France is typically high, because the roads are privately-owned toll roads primarily for long-haul traffic. The exits are expensive to build and the manned toll booths at exits are expensive to run. Thus, the cost may be optimized by minimizing (or optimizing) the number of those.

In Finland, the distance between exits on urban motorways may be less than two kilometres. On the rural ones, there are typically exits every 5 to 8 kilometres. The longest distance between two exits is between the exits 11 (Haarajoki) and 12 (Mäntsälä South) on the road 4/E75: about 18 kilometres.


----------



## DanielFigFoz (Mar 10, 2007)

The exit density in the UK is pretty low, as is the exit density in Portugal. As an exception my local A14 in Portugal has a large exit density between Figueira and Montemor, but other than that the exit density is only quite high in Lisbon and in Porto, the rest is quite like the UK.


----------



## x-type (Aug 19, 2005)

ChrisZwolle said:


> I once calculated the average Dutch nationwide exit density is 3.3 kilometers between each exit.


wow, that's too dense for me!
i will calculate for Croatia, i expect number about 18 km. at the moment i cannot remember distances between exits less than 3 km here (and it is at Zagreb bypass)


----------



## [email protected] (Oct 1, 2008)

In Fance, like other forumers said, on the tolled motorways the distance is usually high (for example only 9 exits on 254 km between Montereau and Dijon on the A5, which makes about 28 km between each exit - and 52 km between exit #18 Montereau and #19 Villeneuve l'Archevêque, though there's a motorway interchange inbetween). 
On the free motorways (mostly retrofitted roads), it's much higher. For example, there are 49 exits on 290 km between Vierzon and Cressensac (the free section of A20), which makes about 6 km between each exit.


----------



## julesstoop (Sep 11, 2002)

Aphelion said:


> Once built out to motorway/expressway, the swedish E22 between Malmö and Karlskrona will have roughly 50 exits spread out on about 200 kilometres... that's an average of 2,5 kilometres between exits!


200 / 50 = 4


----------



## x-type (Aug 19, 2005)

12,2 km for Croatia in average on tolled motorways. somehow low, i should recalculate it.


----------



## Aphelion (May 29, 2010)

julesstoop said:


> 200 / 50 = 4


:nuts: Thanks, I must have been tired yesterday.


----------



## bogdymol (Feb 4, 2010)

I've done some research and... in Romania the situation is like this:

A1 Bucharest - Pitesti (111 km): 16 exits (average: 6.9 km)
A1 Sibiu bypass (17 km): 5 exits (average: 3.4 km)
A2 Bucharest - Cernavodă (153 km): 6 exits (average: 25.5 km)
A3 Gilău - Câmpia Turzii (52 km): 3 exits (average: 17.3 km)
*Total: 333 km, 30 exits, average: 11.1 km*

Now is u/c A1 motorway Arad - Timisoara, with 32 km between 2 exits (there is one planned in the middle, but it won't be build now) and Arad bypass (12.7 km and 4 exits - average: 3.1 km).


----------



## kanterberg (Aug 3, 2009)

In Sweden, at least for the two longest motorways: 

E4 Helsingborg - Gävle (720 km): 139 exits (average: 5,2 km)
E6 Vellinge - Rabbalshede (411 km): 97 exits (average: 4,2 km)


----------



## g.spinoza (Jul 21, 2010)

In Italy, not counting raccordi, tangenziali ecc, but only autostrade proper, there are 632 exits for 6027 km --> 1 exit every 9.5 km.

As for longest routes:
A1; 761 km , 61 exits
A14; 743 km, 63 exits
A4; 522 km, 68 exits
A3; 495 km, 71 exits

number of exits seems inversely proportional to length


----------



## Suburbanist (Dec 25, 2009)

g.spinoza said:


> In Italy, not counting raccordi, tangenziali ecc, but only autostrade proper, there are 632 exits for 6027 km --> 1 exit every 9.5 km.
> 
> As for longest routes:
> A1; 761 km , 61 exits
> ...


Two interesting, contrasting cases:

For its _whole_length, A14 (Bologna-Taranto) is closely followed by a national route, in some cases (between Andria and Bari) by not just one one, but two 2x2 expressways in parallel alignments. This is not a merely rural route, but one that in the 1920 and 1930, and later in the 1950s, was modernized, including many early bypasses of most old towns and so on. A14 also doesn't act as a vital part of mobility of any specific city (after Bologna gained its "tangenziale").

On the other hands, A3 follows a different logic. It is the main urban connector between Napoli and Salerno, including being the route of choice for evacuation of Mt. Vesuvius slopes in case of eruption (= more exits). Then it follows down south without a (relatively) wide national road counterpart for many of its sectors. As its alignment goes over the hilly plateaus in the center of the region, there are many small, twisting mountain roads that intersect way. Back in the the day of its original construction the government had decided opening many more road exists would be the way to improve economy, so in those "unaccompained sectors" you get more exists on those intersections with rural mountain roads.


----------



## Nikolaj (Oct 8, 2009)

*Exit density Denmark*

According to the Vejdirektoratet website www.vd.dk, as of 1st January 2011 Denmark had 1122 km motorways and a total of 224 exits. That is an exit density of 5,0 exits/km of motorway. That excludes motorway junctions between 2 motorways, of which there was 20. Including motorway junctions it gives a density of 4,6 km between each exit/junction.


----------



## aswnl (Jun 6, 2004)

Those 225 exits, are those 225 exit-sliproads, or 225 junctions ?


----------



## ed110220 (Nov 12, 2008)

Just done a quick calculation for the longest continuous freeway in South Africa, the section of the N3 between the centre of Durban and exit 246 outside Ladysmith: 246km with 45 exits (including those at the start and finish and the interchange with the N2) making an average of 5.5km.

However the first 5km in Durban has 5 exits and the last 100km after Mooi River has only 8 exits.


----------



## zaphod (Dec 8, 2005)

You know there are a lot of exits when they get so close the ramps have to be braided so they all fit.
http://www.youtube.com/user/Freewayjim#p/a/F72F5D6C057FDB2F/1/Hqshhn9r8WU




> btw: what a weird, weird name of a city is Kissimmee. I keep wondering how it is pronounced.


Kiss-imh-eee

I only know because I stayed their once. US 192 is where all the cheap motels adjacent to Disney World are located and where my family would stay on vacation in Florida. If you keep driving on it you end up in the old town of Kissimmee, which has a little downtown and an active Amtrak station.


----------



## Frank IBC (Jan 14, 2008)

Suburbanist said:


> btw: what a weird, weird name of a city is _ Kissimmee_. I keep wondering how it is pronounced.


Kiss- SIH- mee. Accent on the second syllable.

Also, in case anyone was wondering, the local pronunciation of Havre de Grace, Maryland (I-95 at Susquehanna River) is "Haver de Grass", like the stuff that grows on your lawn.


----------



## geogregor (Dec 11, 2006)

DanielFigFoz said:


> The exit density in the UK is pretty low, as is the exit density in Portugal. As an exception my local A14 in Portugal has a large exit density between Figueira and Montemor, but other than that the exit density is only quite high in Lisbon and in Porto, the rest is quite like the UK.


Do you know what is the longest distance between the exits in the UK?


----------



## Nikolaj (Oct 8, 2009)

aswnl said:


> Those 225 exits, are those 225 exit-sliproads, or 225 junctions ?


It is 225 junction between a motorway and the remaining road network, Each junction can include a number of exit-sliproads


----------



## Penn's Woods (Apr 8, 2010)

Frank IBC said:


> Kiss- SIH- mee. Accent on the second syllable.
> 
> Also, in case anyone was wondering, the local pronunciation of Havre de Grace, Maryland (I-95 at Susquehanna River) is "Haver de Grass", like the stuff that grows on your lawn.


We're off topic, but I'm never sure whether to pronounce it "Have-er de Grass" - with the As sounding like the A in "cat" - or "Hahv-er de Grahs" - with the A in "father." I think I've heard both. Wikipedia gives "Have-er" - with the A in "cat" - "de Grace" - "Grace" pronounced the American/English way. I think it's mistaken, though. This country - English in general, really - needs a good dictionary of proper names. (Like the "Petit Robert des noms propres" in French.) Doesn't have one, that I know of.

Ahem. Sorry to go off topic. Lame attempt to get back ON topic: Havre de Grace, however you pronounce it, is at exit 89 on I-95. The exits from the Baltimore Beltway to the Delaware line (numbers indicate mileage from either the Maryland/DC or the DC/Virginia line - I've never known, but they're about 200 feet apart on the same bridge, so it doesn't really matter) are 64, 67, 74, 77, 80, 85, 89, 93, 100 and 109. There are very few places I can do that from memory.


----------



## Suburbanist (Dec 25, 2009)

Does anyone have a current, reliable, above-Wikipedia source of which states use sequentially numbered exits and which use distance (mile)-based numbering?


----------



## urbanlover (Feb 14, 2005)

I calculated the denisty for Metro Detroit(Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties) I counted exits even if only one direction had exit figuring these would even out. For the state as whole longest distance between exits I could find was on I-75 at 12 miles in Northern Michigan. I'd guess we have average exit every 3 miles higher if you exclude the high desnity in cities. 

M-10 19 mi, 29 exits
M-39 16 mi, 14 exits
I-96 40 mi, 42 exits
I-75 80 mi, 56 exits
I-94 57 mi, 52 exits
I-275 27 mi, 14 exits
I-696 28 mi, 22 exits

267 mi, 227 exits= 1.1 per mile


----------



## DanielFigFoz (Mar 10, 2007)

geogregor said:


> Do you know what is the longest distance between the exits in the UK?


29km, there are motorway-to-motorway junctions in that though, basically if you enter the M20 at the last junction before the M26 and you go down the M26 and obviously onto the M25 you have no opportunity to leave for 29km


----------



## nerdly_dood (Mar 23, 2007)

Frank IBC said:


> Also, in case anyone was wondering, the local pronunciation of Havre de Grace, Maryland (I-95 at Susquehanna River) is "Haver de Grass", like the stuff that grows on your lawn.


Wah? I always thought it was Hov da Gross, which is how I assume the French pronounce it...

So is it "haver", pronounced like "haver", or a thing that "has", (you know, verb indicating possession and all) or "hayver"?


----------



## El Tiburon (Mar 21, 2010)

In Miami, Florida, the exit density on expressways is pretty high.

On State Road 826 (Palmetto Expressway) and I-95, exits are spaced every 1 mile (1.6 km) or less. On State Road 821 (the Homestead Extension of the Florida Turnpike), there is an exit every 2 to 3 miles (3.2 to 4.8 km). On State Road 836 (Dolphin Expressway), there is an exit every 1.5 mile (2.4 km) and on State Road 874 (Don Shula Expressway), there are only two exits: one is 3 miles (4.8 km) from the beginning, the second one is 1 mile (1.6 km) from the first one, and the end is 1 mile (1.6 km) from the second exit.


----------



## Natomasken (Apr 25, 2008)

Suburbanist said:


> In US, the longest closed-access sector on the Interstate System is reported to be 37 miles long, in I-80 between Wendover and Knolls. If you consider all US controlled-access highways, the distinction goes to Fl. Turnpike (47 miles) between exists 193 (Kenansvillle) and 240 (Kissimmee)


Wendover to Knolls, across the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. I've driven I-80 between Reno and Salt Lake a few times and it's extremely desolate, so this doesn't surprise me. I thought I-80 though Nevada might make the list of the longest exit distances, I'd have guessed maybe 10 miles or more on average between exits, but (excluding Reno) it actually averages only about 5 miles (73 exits over 389 miles per a Wikipedia exit list). The longest stretches are 13 miles once and 11 miles a couple of times.

At the other extreme, some of the exit spacing in US cities is extremely close, with freeways going through the center of most cities. I-395 in Northern Virginia near the Pentagon (coming out of Washington DC) has an incredible 7 exits (6 right and 1 left) over a distance of 0.8 miles/1300m! It's the uppermost roadway in this photo: (screen capture from Google maps)










Downtown Kansas City is interesting too. Here's a description and map from Wikipedia:

The downtown freeway loop, is a complex layout of freeways in downtown Kansas City, Missouri involving 23 exits, four Interstate Highways, four U.S. highways and numerous city streets. Each exit in the freeway loop is numbered 2 and suffixed with every letter of the alphabet except I, O and Z (which would look like 1, 0 and 2 on the exit signs), although some of the exits are currently under construction/renovation and closed to traffic. The entire circumference of the loop is just over four miles (6 km).


----------



## Professor L Gee (Aug 10, 2009)

Suburbanist said:


> btw: what a weird, weird name of a city is _ Kissimmee_. I keep wondering how it is pronounced.


"ki-SIM-mee."

Or, in IPA, /kɨˈsɪmiː/


----------

