# The Highest Point Each Countries Road and Motorway Network



## DanielFigFoz (Mar 10, 2007)

Portugal
Road Network: 1 993m
Motorway Network: 1 070m

UK:

Road Network: 847m 
Motorway Network: 439m

Edit: Sorry, I forgot to put "of" between Point and Each


----------



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

Highest point on the Interstate system - 11,158 ft (3,401 m) And that's inside a tunnel:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenhower_Tunnel

This is supposedly the highest paved road in the U.S. (14,130 feet (4,310 m) ):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Evans_Scenic_Byway

And it's not far from the Eisenhower Tunnel. Both in the mountains west of Denver.


----------



## g.spinoza (Jul 21, 2010)

Italy:

*should be*

Highest road point: Passo dello Stelvio (2758m)
Highest motoway point: either Passo del Brennero or A5 near Monte Bianco tunnel, both at ca. 1350 m.


----------



## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

I won't mention the Dutch statistics because it's embarrassing


----------



## g.spinoza (Jul 21, 2010)

^^ Please do, it's not your fault!


----------



## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

OK 

The highest road is on the island of Saba, approximately 500 meters altitude. The highest road in the Netherlands proper is near the Vaalserberg, approximately 320 meters. The highest motorway is A76 near Heerlen at 180 m altitude.


----------



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

ChrisZwolle said:


> I won't mention the Dutch statistics because it's embarrassing


Weren't we shown on another thread a while ago pix from Sint-Maarten or some place?

EDIT: You posted while I was posting. That's not that bad! There must be countries, and not miniature ones like Monaco, with lowest highest points. There are certainly states in the U.S. that don't reach 320 meters.


----------



## g.spinoza (Jul 21, 2010)

^^ Denmark, for instance...


----------



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

^^It came to mind, yes.


----------



## DanielFigFoz (Mar 10, 2007)

Don't worry Chris, I'm sure some places are worse


----------



## g.spinoza (Jul 21, 2010)

Actually, also Italian A32 near the entrance of Frejus tunnel is slightly above 1300 m. So possibly 3 sites in Italy battle for #1!


----------



## mapman:cz (Jan 14, 2007)

Czech republic:

D1 motorway
max. 655 m at km 104
min. 198 m at km 370

D2 motorway
max. 197 m at km 0
min. 157 m at km 59

D5 motorway
max. 601 m at km 139
min. 230 m at km 20

D8 motorway
max. 644 m at km 90
min. 160 m at km 36

D11 motorway
max. 541 m at km 152 (planned)
min. 192 m at km 16


----------



## Frank IBC (Jan 14, 2008)

Peru: Ticlio (4,818 m / 15,807 ft) - highest paved road in the world

Bolivia: La Cumbre, Yungas Road (4,725 m/15,400 feet).


----------



## Agurv (Aug 14, 2011)

Chris I've been to St. Martin's and I feel like there is a greater height on the roads there, do you have any idea


----------



## Ron2K (Dec 28, 2007)

South Africa:

Highest point on the road network: the gravel road ascending Sani Pass. The top of the pass (also the border with Lesotho) is at 2,874 m. Naude's Nek is the highest pass located entirely within South Africa, ~2,600 m.

Highest point on the freeway network: probably somewhere around Johannesburg, which is at 1,700 m altitude. May be wrong, but I don't think so. 

Lowest point: around sea level (N2 in numerous places, amongst others).


----------



## g.spinoza (Jul 21, 2010)

edit


----------



## Fabri88 (Feb 9, 2011)

The ranking for Italy is, according with Google Earth altimeter:

Brennerpaß/Passo del Brennero 1384m
Frejus Tunnel 1305m
Mont Blanc Tunnel 1294m


----------



## g.spinoza (Jul 21, 2010)

Fabri88 said:


> The ranking for Italy is, according with Google Earth altimeter:
> 
> Brennerpaß/Passo del Brennero 1384m
> Frejus Tunnel 1305m
> Mont Blanc Tunnel 1294m


Must not be very accurate, because official altitude of Italian Mont Blanc tunnel portal is 1381m.

EDIT: No, you're right, A5 ends before the tunnel and there are still two hairpin curves until the portal.

The winner is Passo del Brennero!


----------



## marobara (Sep 21, 2009)

The highest public road in Poland is in the highest situated village in Poland called Zab, at around 1120 m.

The highest paved (cobblestone) road leads to the mountain shelter at the top of mount Sniezka (which btw was once featured on a SSC banner) and reaches 1602m. It lies in a national park and only vehicles with a special permission are allowed there.

The highest motorway is A4 in the area of Opole, only around 360 m - the motorways in Poland are mostly in plains. Some expressways are definitely higher (S1 or S69) but I have no data on them.


----------



## DukeNukem (Oct 23, 2010)

Penn's Woods said:


> Highest point on the Interstate system - 11,158 ft (3,401 m) And that's inside a tunnel:
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenhower_Tunnel
> 
> ...


Ha! Eisenhower tunnel reminds me of SG-1


----------



## alserrod (Dec 27, 2007)

Have to check all but maybe:

Motorways:

A-1: 1580m at Somosierra, in the region of Madrid

(A-2): 1220m at Alcolea del Pinar, in the region of Castilla la Mancha
(A-23): 1180m at Teruel, in the region of Aragon



Roads.... more difficult to check but considering national roads and first level of regional roads maybe it will be the C-28 in the region of Catalonia to approach Viella: 2072m

A-136 at the border with France is about 1800m in Aragon


----------



## Highwaycrazy (Oct 2, 2009)

DanielFigFoz said:


> Portugal
> Road Network: 1 993m
> Motorway Network: 1 070m
> 
> ...


I think the word you're looking for is altitude.


----------



## g.spinoza (Jul 21, 2010)

alserrod said:


> Roads.... more difficult to check but considering national roads and first level of regional roads maybe it will be the C-28 in the region of Catalonia to approach Viella: 2072m


I knew it was Pico de Veleta road, at over 3000m.


----------



## MattiG (Feb 11, 2011)

Finland: The highest point on the public network is in Muotkatakka, road 21/E8 close to the Norwegian border. Altitude is 565.6 metres.

http://maps.google.com/?ll=68.92508...=a7LDIo2x1Dc4TzpdJR5ViQ&cbp=12,287.39,,0,8.01

The point is far north, about 270 kilometres to the north of the Polar Circle. Therefore, the area is treeless even if the altitude is not very high.


----------



## bogdymol (Feb 4, 2010)

Highest paved road in Romania: DN67C (also known as Transalpina). It reaches a maximum altitude of 2145 m and it was recently paved.










^^ Do not confuse this road with Transfăgărăşan, which is the 2nd highest paved road in Romania. This one gets to a maximum of 2042 m.










The highest motorway in Romania could be A1 Sibiu bypass or A3 near Cluj-Napoca. The towns are at 415 m and 410 m above the sea level, so it's a close call.

The lowest road / motorway is at about sea level near the Black Sea.



DukeNukem said:


> Ha! Eisenhower tunnel reminds me of SG-1


I believe that is Cheyenne Mountain:


----------



## Daviedoff (Jun 26, 2011)

Belgium:

Highest altitude motorways: E25 Liège - Arlon at Baraque de Fraiture, altitude +/- 650 meters:









Highest N-road: N676 at Signal de Botrange, 694 meters, this is also the highest point in Belgium.


----------



## alserrod (Dec 27, 2007)

g.spinoza said:


> I knew it was Pico de Veleta road, at over 3000m.



I considered just only national and first level regional roads and I take the exception of those cases on mountains where road arrive to a point and do not continues (this is, a road from a city to other).

Should I add those cases (local roads, roads with restrictions because parks, etc...) the list could be more difficult.



And... I correct... the highest point for a road is the TF-21 in the island of Tenerife. It crosses the island from corner to corner and takes 2650m (yeah... the island is not too big... but road takes that crosses it takes that high). With a little off-road lane, you can get 2700m and approaching a little more Teide peak (more than 3700m just there)


----------



## seem (Jun 15, 2008)

Highest point of the *road network* in Slovakia is probably on a road 537 in Štrbské Pleso at 1 346 metres -










But I know also roads which are higher but they are not state roads - 

Martinské hole, 1435 metres 

Popradské Pleso, 1650 metres

and

Road to TV tower on Kráľová Hoľa at 1946 metres



















Highest point on the *motorway network* is near Štrba at about 900 metres, village of Štrba and motorway when it was under construction -


----------



## Cicerón (May 15, 2006)

Spain:

Road network: 3,367 m (GR-420 in Granada, road to the Pico Veleta)

Considering only national roads, the highest mountain pass is La Collada de Toses (Girona province) at 1,800 m. The second highest is probably the Puerto de Piqueras at 1,710 m between the provinces of Soria and La Rioja. Some years ago a tunnel was opened, so the mountain pass is not used by most traffic. But definitely the most infamous mountain pass in Spain is the Puerto de Pajares at 1,378 m, between Asturias and León. The alternative is a tolled motorway (AP-66) but it seems to be too expensive for heavy traffic.








Here is a list with the highest roads in Spain: http://www.altimetrias.net/aspbk/ListadoPuertos.asp?Tipo=comparativa1.altitud &Ord=DESC


----------



## Czas na Żywiec (Jan 17, 2005)

bogdymol said:


> ^^ Do not confuse this road with Transfăgărăşan, which is the 2nd highest paved road in Romania. This one gets to a maximum of 2042 m.


Amazing


----------



## italystf (Aug 2, 2011)

g.spinoza said:


> I knew it was Pico de Veleta road, at over 3000m.


After googling a bit, I found that Pico de Veleta road (3392m) is something like a park road and private cars aren't allowed here.
The highest road in Europe is Cime de la Bonet in French Alps (2802m).


----------



## Cicerón (May 15, 2006)

^^ :yes: The Pico Veleta road can be used by private cars up to the height of ~2,600 m. Then there is a barrier from which, to the height of 3,367 m, it can be used only by bikes, pedestrians and people allowed by the Sierra Nevada ski station. The last meters, up to the summit (3,396 m) are not paved.

Here's the barrier:


Raul_Ma_Ca said:


>


Source & more pictures: http://apmforo.mforos.com/570933/6704347-hasta-el-infinito-y-mas-alla/


----------



## metasmurf (Nov 16, 2007)

Sweden:

Highest public road: Flatruetvägen. 975m

Highest numbered road: Länsväg 311 850m

Highest national road: Riksväg 84 840m (near the Norwegian border)

Highest E-Road: E14 615m (around Storlien)

Highest motorway: E4 280m (north of Gränna)


----------



## x-type (Aug 19, 2005)

cool thread 

in Croatia:

motorways - A6 near Delnice, seddle Dedin, 860 m 
state roads - D25 near Baške Oštarije, 955 m


----------



## g.spinoza (Jul 21, 2010)

Cicerón said:


> ^^ :yes: The Pico Veleta road can be used by private cars up to the height of ~2,600 m. Then there is a barrier from which, to the height of 3,367 m, it can be used only by bikes, pedestrians and people allowed by the Sierra Nevada ski station. The last meters, up to the summit (3,396 m) are not paved.
> 
> Here's the barrier:
> 
> ...


I think I will go there on my trip to Spain next month, and then hike to the summit


----------



## Coccodrillo (Sep 30, 2005)

Switzerland:
road, Umbail Pass, 2501 m: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbrail_Pass
main road, Great St Bernard Tunnel, 1918 m: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_St_Bernard_Tunnel
motorway, A2 Gotthard tunnel, 1150 m~: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A2_motorway_(Switzerland)
funicular railway, Felskinn-Mittelallalin in Saas Fee, 3462 m: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_Alpin
railway, Jungfraubahn, 3454 m: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jungfraubahn
non tourism-only railway, Berninabahn, 2253 m: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernina_Railway
ropeway, Klein Matterhorn, 3820 m: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klein_Matterhorn


----------



## alserrod (Dec 27, 2007)

Cicerón said:


> Spain:
> 
> Road network: 3,367 m (GR-420 in Granada, road to the Pico Veleta)
> 
> ...



On national roads, let's add Somport Mountains Pass in the N-330 (border to France).

It is 1640m over sea level, and European road E-07

There is a 8,1 km tunnel (toll-free... is there another so long tunnel free in Europe?) at about 1.100m


A photo of the mountain pass (part of Way to St.James for pilgrims). The building is the old border cabins (both French and Spanish). All part behind it is France


----------



## Coccodrillo (Sep 30, 2005)

alserrod said:


> There is a 8,1 km tunnel (toll-free... is there another so long tunnel free in Europe?) at about 1.100m


Gotthard tunnel (CH) 17 km (only the yearly vignette of 40 CHF...or :bash: 40 EUR is due)
Gudvangen tunnel (N) 11 km
Laerdal tunnel (N) 25 km


----------



## alserrod (Dec 27, 2007)

A little detail about highest point.

In Spain all altitudes are compared with the average sea level at Alicante since a lot of years ago. Sometimes they use two levels... one comparing with Alicante and other comparing with sea at Santander.

There is about 1,5 m of difference in those points (Mediterranean and Atlantic)... but if you find in Spain a level measure is always compared to Alicante (I do not know what about Canary islands, Balearic islands, Ceuta and Melilla...).

In all old stations it appeared a signal like this one informing about altitude


----------



## ea1969 (Oct 6, 2007)

Greece

National Roads: Katara Pass 1705m (on NR6) - Pisoderi Pass 1420m (on NR2) - Polymylos Pass 1360m (on NR4) - Vytina Pass 1135m (on NR74) - Artemisia Pass 1024m (on NR82).

Motorways tend to avoid high altitudes by cutting through tunnels. I assume that the highest points should be at about 800 - 900m on quite a lot of points on the A2 between Ioannina and Kozani and around Artemisio Tunnel on the A7.


----------



## alserrod (Dec 27, 2007)

Andorra: 2.405 in the Valira mountain pass.

Take a look going down to France because at 2350m there is a kart circuit (Can it be the highest in the world?)

Border is at Pas de la Casa. There is a 3 km tunnel down the pass. Both entrances to the tunnel, west and east are at Andorra, but eastern is closed, closed to border to France and the road is prepared to cross a little French territory to go from Pas de la Casa to the rest of the country of Andorra. It could be possible to do without crossing the border, but there are no a lot of space.

Border custom cabins are some kilometres inside France.


----------



## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

http://goo.gl/maps/T7Hxl

There is an unpaved road that goes up to 3.800 meters in southern Russia, on the flanks of the Elbrus. The paved road ends at circa 2.400 meters at a ski area in the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria.


----------



## volodaaaa (Apr 9, 2013)

seem said:


> Highest point on the *motorway network* is near Štrba at about 900 metres, village of Štrba and motorway when it was under construction -


It is called *Štrbský prah* (literally Threshold of Štrba [municipality]). Here is the streetview pic:

Just under the overpass - Štbský prah


----------



## Zagor666 (Feb 20, 2011)

Austria :
- Brennerpass 1371m
- Oetztaler Gletscherstrasse 2829m


----------



## yohaniv (Nov 18, 2010)

No Slovenia yet? Here we go. 600m+ on highways; Karavanke enterance, Postojna Gate and Čebulovica pass. Latest probably around 650. As for (sub)standard paved roads: Mangart ring road: 2000+.


----------



## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

^^ A1 between H4 and Senožeče is 680-700 m according to Google Maps, Vršič Pass is 1,611 m, road to Mangart (cul-de-sac) reaches 2,055 m (all of them paved).


----------



## changluo (Jul 7, 2012)

China

G109 QingZang Highway: Paved. The highest point 5231m at Tanggula pass
I went there for work (vehicle altitude test) in 2004 and reached the point at 4767m (Kunlun Pass). 
(elevation profile borrowed from http://www.qhnews.com/)


----------



## changluo (Jul 7, 2012)

G219 Xin-Zang Highway: Fully paved since Oct 2013.
Highest point: around 5200m - 5300m at Hongtu Pass （Some said the elevation is 5260m according to GPS while some other claimed it's 5370m）
elevation profile borrowed from Wiki









I drove through this highway in 2010, pictures taken in that trip:


----------



## Proterra (Mar 17, 2011)

Poland: 

Highest A-road: A4 Góra Świętej Anny, 386 metres
Highest S-road (motorway standard): S69 @ Aquapark Bielsko-Biała, 410 metres
Highest S-road (non-motorway standard): S69 @ Tunnel Emilia, 678 metres
Highest DK-road (Class GP): DK7 Chabówka, 684 metres
Highest DK-road (Non-Class GP): DK8 Szklarska Poręba, 890 metres
Highest main road: DW960 @ Gubałówka, gm. Bukowina Tatrzańska, 1142 metres
Highest publicly accessible paved road: Przełęcz Karkonoska, 1198 metres
Highest publicly accessible dirt track: Schronisko @ Turbacz, 1280 metres
Highest non-publicly accessible paved road: Morskie Oko, 1410 metres

There are tracks going up higher into the Tatra Mountains, but I'm unsure whether one could get anything bigger than a quad up those...


----------



## verreme (May 16, 2012)

changluo said:


> G219 Xin-Zang Highway: Fully paved since Oct 2013.
> Highest point: around 5200m - 5300m at Hongtu Pass （Some said the elevation is 5260m according to GPS while some other claimed it's 5370m）
> elevation profile borrowed from Wiki
> 
> ...


Wow. The record altitude reached ever by a car is not much higher than that. How did the car behave? Did you feel a significant loss of power?


----------



## ElviS77 (Aug 3, 2007)

No-one seems to have done Norway:

Dead-end road to Juvasshytta - 1841 m.
Mountain pass: Sognefjellet - 1434 m (also highest numbered road, the fv 55).
National road: Hardangervidda - 1250 m (rv 7)
E road: Haukeli - 1085 m (E134)
Motorway: Don't know, probably E6 somewhere around Kløfta/Jessheim or E16 close to Gardermoen. Roughly 200 m, though.


----------



## changluo (Jul 7, 2012)

verreme said:


> Wow. The record altitude reached ever by a car is not much higher than that. How did the car behave? Did you feel a significant loss of power?


The ambient pressure logged with my laptop was around 53 kPa at one of the pass "Jieshan Pass" (界山达坂) where I stayed for a while to fly my RC plane. This level of pressure is slightly above a half of ambient pressure at sea level. Therefore in theory the engine (a natural aspirated PSA EW10J4 2.0L petrol) can only achieve at most half of its nominal power output. In fact, I was very satisfied with its behavior, it easily drove at 150kph on the tarmac at around 4500m, and climbed the mountains without much effort. I think that was largely be cause the car was calibrated in China to suit the local environment. 

One interesting thing was that I met a guy who was driving a Subaru Forester 2.0NA on the same highway, his car wasn't doing very well--it struggled at every small hill when the elevation went above 4000m. That car was imported from Japan -- where there's no way to get that high even you drove it to the top of Fuji mountain. 

And I did see some reports from Land Rover owners who were trying to do the similar trip that their car struggled at above 4000m. One of them had to reverse down and went back home due to complete loss of power at high altitude.

Attached is the data log on that day.
MAP: Manifold Absolute Pressure, in kPa



















Loads of pictures in here:
http://www.xcar.com.cn/bbs/photo/13702031/0.htm


----------



## ElviS77 (Aug 3, 2007)

Regarding highest Norwegian motorway: It might actually be that E18 is higher at Liertoppen, it ought to be around 200 metres above sea level as well.


----------



## changluo (Jul 7, 2012)

China

G318 Chuan-Zang Highway: Highest point above 5000m
Paved except for few sections where the geographic condition doesn't allow that 

Elevation profile borrowed from http://www.lasalvshe.com/









I drove along this highway from Shanghai(0km) until Tingri (around 5215km) where I left it for the base camp of the Mountain Everest. The highway ends at China-Nepal border making it 5476km long.


----------



## xrtn2 (Jan 12, 2011)

BRAZIL

BR-485(FEDERAL ROAD)


----------



## caco (May 25, 2006)

*Brazil

Paved National Road (BR-354): 1669 meters above sea level

1. 

caco (SSC Brasil)

2. 

caco (SSC Brasil)

3. Interstate border

caco (SSC Brasil)

4. 

caco (SSC Brasil)

Unpaved National Road (BR-485): 2.460 meters above sea level
Itatiaia National Park

5. 

caco (SSC Brasil)

6. 

caco (SSC Brasil)

7. 

caco (SSC Brasil)

8. 

caco (SSC Brasil)

9. 

caco (SSC Brasil)*

Original thread: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1658697


----------



## italystf (Aug 2, 2011)

xrtn2 said:


> BRAZIL
> 
> BR-485(FEDERAL ROAD)


I wonder how they calculated those 285mm.


----------



## g.spinoza (Jul 21, 2010)

^^ Theodolites can do that.


----------



## verreme (May 16, 2012)

changluo said:


> The ambient pressure logged with my laptop was around 53 kPa at one of the pass "Jieshan Pass" (界山达坂) where I stayed for a while to fly my RC plane. This level of pressure is slightly above a half of ambient pressure at sea level. Therefore in theory the engine (a natural aspirated PSA EW10J4 2.0L petrol) can only achieve at most half of its nominal power output. In fact, I was very satisfied with its behavior, it easily drove at 150kph on the tarmac at around 4500m, and climbed the mountains without much effort. I think that was largely be cause the car was calibrated in China to suit the local environment.
> 
> One interesting thing was that I met a guy who was driving a Subaru Forester 2.0NA on the same highway, his car wasn't doing very well--it struggled at every small hill when the elevation went above 4000m. That car was imported from Japan -- where there's no way to get that high even you drove it to the top of Fuji mountain.
> 
> ...


Wow, what a trip! Hope I can climb there one day, highest altitude I've reached so far is 2.000 meters in Coll de Pal, a road climbing up to a ski resort in the Spanish Pyrenees.


----------



## italystf (Aug 2, 2011)

g.spinoza said:


> ^^ Theodolites can do that.


Ok, but you're likely to get a different value for every square inch (oops... centimeter ) of asphalt you measure.


----------



## roofromoz (May 20, 2007)

In Australia, the highest road would probably be Alpine Way between Thredbo and Khancoban in New South Wales as it is close to Mount Kosciusko, which is Australia's highest peak at 2228m above sea level.

As for the highest point for any motorway, it *may possibly* be the M1 South Eastern Freeway around Crafers in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia which is at about 300m above sea level. However, the A32 Great Western Highway at Katoomba has a limited access section with a grade separated interchange on the western edges, and it is about 1000m above sea level.


----------



## MattiG (Feb 11, 2011)

*Finland*

The Finnish motorways run through lowlands. The highest 'peak' is located on 9/E63 at the southern end of the Jyväskylä south approach. The elevation is 157 meters.

https://maps.google.fi/?ll=62.17878...id=c7QF4a68_vB-kN9x0Xqp8g&cbp=12,5.86,,0,8.86

The second highest spot, 152 meters, is located on 3/E12 at Tampere ring:

https://maps.google.fi/?ll=61.53292...JDNTwyYqoQkB2IaDI6AUkg&cbp=12,175.52,,0,-4.27


----------



## Strajder (Sep 7, 2008)

In Serbia, highest point on motorways would be on A1 about 5km before SRB/MK border at 459m.
For national roads, highest point is Jaram Pass (1788m) on Kopaonik Mountain, between Brzeće and Kopaonik ski resort, road R218a (old mark).


----------

