European route E 59 is a north-south Class-A intermediate European route. It begins in Prague, Czech Republic, passes through Vienna, Austria and Maribor, Slovenia, ending near Zagreb, Croatia. The total length of the route is 644 km (400 mi). The E59 largely consists of motorways but some sections are developed either as expressways or two-lane roads with at-grade intersections. The motorway sections are generally tolled through varying systems and rates. Individual segments of the E59 route are shared with several other European routes. Originally, the route extended through Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina to Split, Croatia.

E59 shield
E59
Map
Austria A2 moedling.jpg
E59 as Austrian A2 motorway south of Vienna
Route information
Length680 km (420 mi)
Major junctions
North endPrague, Czech Republic
Major intersectionsCzech D1 motorway shield Jihlava
Austrian A4 motorway shield Vienna
Austrian A2 motorway shield Graz
Slovenian A1 motorway shield Maribor
South endCroatian A3 motorway shield Zagreb, Croatia
Location
Countries Czech Republic
 Austria
 Slovenia
 Croatia
Highway system

Route description

edit
 
Croatian A2 motorway, near the southern terminus of the E59

Route of the E59 starts in Prague, Czech Republic, and proceeds southeast along the D1 motorway towards Jihlava, where it leaves the motorway and turns south along the route 38, a regular road comprising at-grade intersections. The route passes near Moravské Budějovice and Znojmo.[1] It crosses from the Czech Republic to Austria between Chvalovice and Haugsdorf as it switches to Austrian B303 state road, representing another two-lane road with at-grade intersections. North of Guntersdorf, the E59 transfers to the S3 expressway until it reaches Stockerau and the A22 which carries the E59 east to Vienna. Within the city, the E59 turns south once again in Donaustadt, transferring to the A23 taking it to the southern outskirts of the city. There it proceeds further south along the A2 motorway taking the route past Wiener Neustadt to the city of Graz. Graz itself is bypassed by the motorway and the E59 switches there to the A9 motorway marking the final southbound leg of the E59 through Austria until it reaches Spielfeld/Šentilj border crossing to Slovenia.[2] South of the border crossing the E59 route follows the Slovenian A1 motorway to the south of Maribor where the E59 leaves the A1 route and joins the A4 taking it to Gruškovje/Macelj border crossing to Croatia.[3] South of the border, the E59 follows Croatian A2 motorway running past Krapina to Zagreb. The E59 terminates at Jankomir interchange of the Zagreb bypass, where southbound E59 traffic defaults to the eastbound A3 motorway.[4] Originally the E59 extended further south past Zagreb, to Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Split at the Adriatic Sea coast, however, that segment of the route was subsequently transferred to the European route E71. Nonetheless, the E59 shares segments of the route with a number of other European routes.[5] A part of the E59 spanning Prague and Vienna corresponds to the Pan-European Corridor IV, and the segment spanning Graz and Zagreb corresponds to the Pan-European Corridor Xa.[6]

Toll

edit

Various sections of the E59 are tolled, using a range of toll collection systems. In Czech Republic, vehicles exceeding 3.5 tonnes (3.4 long tons; 3.9 short tons) using the D1 motorway are charged toll using an electronic toll collection (ETC) system, while other vehicles are required to have a vignette displayed.[1][7] The same applies to Austrian motorways.[8] Slovenia has a similar system in place, although vehicles exceeding the 3.5 tonnes (3.4 long tons; 3.9 short tons) weight limit are provided with a number of payment options.[9] The Croatian A2 is also a tolled motorway, using a ticket system. As of August 2011, the toll charged along the A2 route between various toll plazas at each motorway exit and two mainline toll plazas, varies depending on the length of route travelled and the vehicle classification in Croatia. The toll is payable in either Croatian kuna or euros and by major credit and debit cards. A prepaid toll collection system is also used.[10]

History

edit

UNECE was formed in 1947, and their first major act to improve transportation was a joint UN declaration no. 1264, the Declaration on the Construction of Main International Traffic Arteries,[11] signed in Geneva on September 16, 1950, which defined the first E-road network. This declaration was amended several times before November 15, 1975, when it was replaced by the European Agreement on Main International Traffic Arteries or "AGR", which set up a route numbering system and improved standards for roads in the list. The AGR went through several changes, with the last one, as of 2011, in 2008.[12] Reorganization of the E-roads network of 1975 and 1983 redefined the E71 designation previously associated with HanoverBremenBremerhaven road and assigned it to Košice–Budapest–Zagreb route.[11][13] The same documents assigned the Zagreb–Bihać–Split section to the E59, as the E71 terminated in Zagreb at the time, however, the most recent revision of the E-network truncated the E59 in Zagreb, and transferred its former southern leg to the E71, shortening the E59 considerably.[12]

Concurrencies

edit
Country km Route[1][2][3][4] Control
cities
Connecting
routes
[4][14]
Notes
Czech Republic 0-114   D1 Prague
Jihlava
  R1
  19
  34
Northbound E59 traffic leaving the segment defaults to Brněnská Street in Prague. Southbound E59 traffic leaves the D1 motorway at exit 112A. This segment is concurrent with the E50 and the E65 routes.
The northernmost segment of the route.
114-209   38 Jihlava
Znojmo
  23
  53
Regular road with at-grade intersections.
Austria 209-234   B303 Haugsdorf
Guntersdorf
  B45 Regular road with at-grade intersections.
234-255   S3 Guntersdorf
Stockerau
  B4
  B40
Expressway
255-285   A22 Stockerau
Vienna
  S1
  B8
Southbound E59 traffic leaving the segment switches from the A22 to the A23 at Kaisermühlen interchange
This segment is concurrent with the E49.
285-296   A23 Vienna   A4 Northbound E59 traffic leaving the segment switches to the A22 at Kaisermühlen interchange.
Southbound E59 traffic leaving the segment switches to the A2 at Inzersdorf interchange.
296-481   A2 Vienna
Graz
  A3
  A21
  S4
  S6
Southbound E59 traffic leaving the segment transfers to the A9 at Graz-West interchange.
Northbound E59 traffic leaving the segment transfers to the A23 at Inzersdorf interchange.
A part of this segment, between Fürstenfeld and Graz is concurrent with the E66.
481-522   A9 Graz
Spielfeld
  B70 Northbound E59 traffic leaves the A9 at Graz-West interchange.
This segment is concurrent with the E57.
Slovenia 522-548   A1 Šentilj
Maribor
  A5 Southbound E59 leaves the A1 at Maribor jug interchange.
This segment is concurrent with the E57.
548-583   A4 Maribor
Gruškovje
  2
Croatia 583-644   A2 Macelj
Zagreb
  A3
  D205
  D307
Southbound E59 traffic leaving the segment defaults to eastbound A3 (E70) at Jankomir interchange of the Zagreb bypass.
The southernmost segment of the route.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c "Roads and Motorways in the Czech Republic" (PDF). Road and Motorway Directorate of Czech Republic. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 21, 2011. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  2. ^ a b "STRASSENNETZ" [Road network] (in German). ASFINAG. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  3. ^ a b "Zgodovina gradnje avtocest" [History of motorway construction] (in Slovenian). DARS. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "Regulation on motorway markings, chainage, interchange/exit/rest area numbers and names". Narodne novine (in Croatian). April 24, 2003. Archived from the original on October 4, 2011. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  5. ^ "European Agreement on main international traffic arteries (AGR) (with annexes and list of roads). Concluded at Geneva on 15 November 1975" (PDF). United Nations. Retrieved July 29, 2011.
  6. ^ "Introducing TEM and TER". United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  7. ^ "Stickers (< 3.5 t)". ceskedalnice.cz. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  8. ^ "TOLL". ASFINAG. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  9. ^ "TOLL". DARS. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  10. ^ "Zagreb - Macelj pricelist". Hrvatske autoceste. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  11. ^ a b "Declaration on the Construction of Main International Traffic Arteries, signed at Geneva" (PDF). United Nations. September 16, 1950. Retrieved August 10, 2011.[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ a b "EUROPEAN AGREMENT [sic] ON MAIN INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC ARTERIES (AGR)" (PDF) (PDF). United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. March 28, 2008. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
  13. ^ "European Agreement on main international traffic arteries (AGR) (with annexes and list of roads). Concluded at Geneva on 15 November 1975" (PDF). United Nations. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
  14. ^ "Decision on categorization of public roads as state roads, county roads and local roads". Narodne novine (in Croatian). February 17, 2010.
edit