Belgium motorway numbering

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Peter350
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Belgium motorway numbering

Post by Peter350 »

The A10 motorway runs from Brussels to Ostend, but it is only signed as such from the Jabbeke Interchange. This is because the rest of the route is part of European route E40, which continues west to Calais via the unsigned A18.

But why do E numbers take priority over A numbers in this country? Yes I understand the E40 may be part of a much longer route but surely it should share the same prefix as other motorways.

And why are orbital motorways given a R prefix? It must be very confusing having to remember three different prefixes for a single standard of road.
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Re: Belgium motorway numbering

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That's just the way it is... It's not as confusing as the Spanish system, when I first started seriously continental driving in the 80s having consistent signed E numbers to help navigate from Calais across through to Germany was particularly useful. I am surprised, however, that they never assigned an E number to the road into Ostend port.
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Re: Belgium motorway numbering

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Peter350 wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 13:27But why do E numbers take priority over A numbers in this country? Yes I understand the E40 may be part of a much longer route but surely it should share the same prefix as other motorways.
The simple answer is: because that is what Belgium has decided to do. They choose to sign E-routes and they choose to have only one number for each road, so it follows that where an E-route exists that is the only number that is signposted.
And why are orbital motorways given a R prefix?
Again, because...that is what Belgium chooses to do! Arguably the use of “R” makes it easy to identify a ring road when navigating an unfamiliar town.
It must be very confusing having to remember three different prefixes for a single standard of road.
I don’t think it’s all that confusing. As a motorist you don’t have to remember how a country’s road numbering system works, you just have to know the numbers for the roads you need to use. I doubt the majority of drivers in Belgium, or visiting Belgium, have given it a moment’s thought.
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Re: Belgium motorway numbering

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Chris5156 wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 16:28
Peter350 wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 13:27It must be very confusing having to remember three different prefixes for a single standard of road.
I don’t think it’s all that confusing. As a motorist you don’t have to remember how a country’s road numbering system works, you just have to know the numbers for the roads you need to use. I doubt the majority of drivers in Belgium, or visiting Belgium, have given it a moment’s thought.
Indeed, I'd imagine that the majority of motorists joining a Belgian motorway simply look for "Bruxelles", "Liege", "Luxembourg", etc to make sure that they are heading in the right direction. That's all they need.
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Re: Belgium motorway numbering

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Owain wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 19:56
Chris5156 wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 16:28
Peter350 wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 13:27It must be very confusing having to remember three different prefixes for a single standard of road.
I don’t think it’s all that confusing. As a motorist you don’t have to remember how a country’s road numbering system works, you just have to know the numbers for the roads you need to use. I doubt the majority of drivers in Belgium, or visiting Belgium, have given it a moment’s thought.
Indeed, I'd imagine that the majority of motorists joining a Belgian motorway simply look for "Bruxelles", "Liege", "Luxembourg", etc to make sure that they are heading in the right direction. That's all they need.
Or "Brussel", "Luik", "Luxemburg", depending on where you are. Even French cities are signed in Flemish in Flanders. Want Lille? Look for "Rijsel".
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Re: Belgium motorway numbering

Post by ravenbluemoon »

Sweden uses E numbers over their (unprefixed) Riksväg numbering system, though they kind of cocked up the renumbering efforts in the 70s(?) - the E4 and E6 are two of the most major roads in Sweden, they were to be renumbered E55 and E47, but the cost of resigning would have been prohibitive.

Apart from that, there's no prefixes, so really you have no clue as to whether, for example, Riksväg 158 is a motorway, "happy car" expressway or just an S2.
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Re: Belgium motorway numbering

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For Belgium in particular, the E numbers taking priority over the national A numbers makes perfect sense given it is not a massive country and is situated near the centre of the Western European road network. There are excellent road connections into the Netherlands and France and it would be foolish not to acknowledge them in some way that is fairly easy to understand. I believe it is commonplace to describe motorways in Belgium by their E number instead of their A number, provided of course that the motorway is on the E road network in the first place.
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Re: Belgium motorway numbering

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Chris5156 wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 16:28 I don’t think it’s all that confusing. As a motorist you don’t have to remember how a country’s road numbering system works, you just have to know the numbers for the roads you need to use. I doubt the majority of drivers in Belgium, or visiting Belgium, have given it a moment’s thought.
Normally it may not be, but there are places where it is confusing.

I say this having been around the junction of the A14 / E14 three times because we were just looking for 14 and, not knowing about this little quirk, not checking the prefix letter. A satnav was in use but only by a passenger to find road numbers.
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Re: Belgium motorway numbering

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Pendlemac wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 23:05
Chris5156 wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 16:28 I don’t think it’s all that confusing. As a motorist you don’t have to remember how a country’s road numbering system works, you just have to know the numbers for the roads you need to use. I doubt the majority of drivers in Belgium, or visiting Belgium, have given it a moment’s thought.
Normally it may not be, but there are places where it is confusing.

I say this having been around the junction of the A14 / E14 three times because we were just looking for 14 and, not knowing about this little quirk, not checking the prefix letter. A satnav was in use but only by a passenger to find road numbers.
Presumably you mean the E17 which takes the Lille -> Ghent -> Antwerp route and includes the Belgian A14 - the European E14 crosses Scandinavia from Trondheim in Norway and Sundsvall in Sweden and has no other number in both countries. Although you are right about there being some potential confusion whenever E numbers and national numbers coincide. I can only think of one instance of this though, and that is the E01 covering the M1/N1 in the Republic of Ireland and the A1/M1 in Northern Ireland. If there are any other cases of this happening then it would be more likely to happen further west and north in the network where the numbers are lower.
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Re: Belgium motorway numbering

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Chris Bertram wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 20:44
Owain wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 19:56
Chris5156 wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 16:28 I don’t think it’s all that confusing. As a motorist you don’t have to remember how a country’s road numbering system works, you just have to know the numbers for the roads you need to use. I doubt the majority of drivers in Belgium, or visiting Belgium, have given it a moment’s thought.
Indeed, I'd imagine that the majority of motorists joining a Belgian motorway simply look for "Bruxelles", "Liege", "Luxembourg", etc to make sure that they are heading in the right direction. That's all they need.
Or "Brussel", "Luik", "Luxemburg", depending on where you are. Even French cities are signed in Flemish in Flanders. Want Lille? Look for "Rijsel".
Increasingly the signs are showing the local name if the locale is outwith the Kingdom of Belgium - Lille rather than Rijsel or Rijsel (Lille0, and Aachen appears to be supplanting both Aken and Aix la Chapelle.

Though you still have beauties like this

https://www.google.com/maps/@50.26547,6 ... 312!8i6656

In the German Cantons de l'Est where the French for Trier has been painted out.

In terms of numbers, Belgian numbering is still nationally organised although the road network is run by the three regional governments in Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels.
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Re: Belgium motorway numbering

Post by Bryn666 »

The way to know a road in Belgium is a motorway is that references to motorways away from the mainline are on green signs, as per exiled's link above.

Blue signs are used everywhere else. Literally. Even plates underneath warning and regulatory signs are blue. Da-ba-dee-da-ba-die.
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Re: Belgium motorway numbering

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Euan wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 09:24
Pendlemac wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 23:05
Chris5156 wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 16:28 I don’t think it’s all that confusing. As a motorist you don’t have to remember how a country’s road numbering system works, you just have to know the numbers for the roads you need to use. I doubt the majority of drivers in Belgium, or visiting Belgium, have given it a moment’s thought.
Normally it may not be, but there are places where it is confusing.

I say this having been around the junction of the A14 / E14 three times because we were just looking for 14 and, not knowing about this little quirk, not checking the prefix letter. A satnav was in use but only by a passenger to find road numbers.
Presumably you mean the E17 which takes the Lille -> Ghent -> Antwerp route and includes the Belgian A14 - the European E14 crosses Scandinavia from Trondheim in Norway and Sundsvall in Sweden and has no other number in both countries. Although you are right about there being some potential confusion whenever E numbers and national numbers coincide. I can only think of one instance of this though, and that is the E01 covering the M1/N1 in the Republic of Ireland and the A1/M1 in Northern Ireland. If there are any other cases of this happening then it would be more likely to happen further west and north in the network where the numbers are lower.
Apologies. :oops: It was a few years ago and having checked on Google Maps ( which I should have done before posting :facepalm: ) it was the A17 / E17 junction. We were heading south-west and wanted to go south-east.
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Re: Belgium motorway numbering

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Peter350 wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 13:27
But why do E numbers take priority over A numbers in this country? Yes I understand the E40 may be part of a much longer route but surely it should share the same prefix as other motorways.
Because Belgium is a kind of non-country, happy to accept its subsumption into the new European construct.

And because there is so much furrin' traffic on its roads that it makes sense.

My one piece of advice for driving in Belgium is to avoid the D2 N-roads as they are appallingly badly maintained.
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Re: Belgium motorway numbering

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jimboLL wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 13:08
Peter350 wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 13:27
But why do E numbers take priority over A numbers in this country? Yes I understand the E40 may be part of a much longer route but surely it should share the same prefix as other motorways.
Because Belgium is a kind of non-country, happy to accept its subsumption into the new European construct.

And because there is so much furrin' traffic on its roads that it makes sense.

My one piece of advice for driving in Belgium is to avoid the D2 N-roads as they are appallingly badly maintained.
Belgium is a right proper country with an interesting history, and did something last year England could not, won a world cup.

If you are driving in Belgium you want to take the Ardennes N4 south from Namur rather than the A4-E411. A rollercoaster with roadsigns!
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Re: Belgium motorway numbering

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jimboLL wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 13:08
Peter350 wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 13:27But why do E numbers take priority over A numbers in this country? Yes I understand the E40 may be part of a much longer route but surely it should share the same prefix as other motorways.
Because Belgium is a kind of non-country, happy to accept its subsumption into the new European construct.
You may be as disparaging about Belgium as you like, but don't bring the EU into this. E Roads are created and allocated by an agency of the UN.

From the SABRE Wiki: E Roads :


The International E-road network is a system of roads across Europe and the former Soviet Union. It is co-ordinated by the Economic Commission for Europe, a United Nations agency. The original agreement was drawn up in 1950 and has been modified several times since then. The agreement specifies:

· The numbering convention

· The routes to be used

· The quality of roads to be used


After a major re-organisation of the road numbers in 1975 (implemented 1983), the basis for

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Re: Belgium motorway numbering

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exiled wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 17:52
jimboLL wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 13:08
Peter350 wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 13:27
But why do E numbers take priority over A numbers in this country? Yes I understand the E40 may be part of a much longer route but surely it should share the same prefix as other motorways.
Because Belgium is a kind of non-country, happy to accept its subsumption into the new European construct.

And because there is so much furrin' traffic on its roads that it makes sense.

My one piece of advice for driving in Belgium is to avoid the D2 N-roads as they are appallingly badly maintained.
Belgium is a right proper country with an interesting history, and did something last year England could not, won a world cup.

If you are driving in Belgium you want to take the Ardennes N4 south from Namur rather than the A4-E411. A rollercoaster with roadsigns!
...and potholes so deep they dented a wheel on my unloaded truck, despite commercial tyres with deep re-inforced sidewalls.

(Allegedly more castles per surface area than any other country)
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Re: Belgium motorway numbering

Post by exiled »

The Wallon authorities do give the impression road repair is not that high on their to do list.

Brussels-Capital and Flanders appear better but it would not be easy to be much worse.

Bouillon is a fantastic castle and town, well worth a visit.
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Re: Belgium motorway numbering

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exiled wrote: Wed Mar 13, 2019 13:44 The Wallon authorities do give the impression road repair is not that high on their to do list.
There was a big programme of resurfacing about 20 years ago in Belgium, as they'd let the roads disintegrate into a really appalling state - crash barriers were rusted to pieces and the concrete road surfaces were breaking up everywhere. The Ghent-Mons-Charleroi-Liege-Aachen motorway was particularly bad. Metal barriers have mostly been replaced with concrete, and much resurfacing done, but I suppose more has worn out - I can't remember where it was, but about a year ago I went through one stretch of roadworks in blegium where it had been coned down to one lane for so long that grass was growing between the gaps in the concrete....
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Re: Belgium motorway numbering

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The A11 appears to be another oddity, as its two discontinuous sections travel in completely different directions. The first section west of Antwerp which becomes the N49 near Zelzate is fine. The next section however appears odd as it requires a detour north-west towards Knooke to access, before making a 90 degree turn to eventually head southwards to Bruges. For a direct Antwerp - Ostend/points west corridor, it would have been better to build a direct route between the N49 near Maldgelm and the A10/E40 near Jabbeke, although I am wondering whether it was done like this in anticipation of a new Bruges - Rotterdam motorway corridor via the Dutch Zeeland islands.
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Re: Belgium motorway numbering

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That would be around the time roads transferred to the Regional governments?

Talking of which Wallonia has just, February, voted to look in principle at a vignette system for its motorway network. This could make it interesting on the Brussels Liege motorway that crosses the regional boundary frequently.
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