Route Number Plate Colour Spain

[mwacuk]

My mind is blown. OK so, if signs have a blue background that indicates an access controlled highway (autopista or autovia), everything else is White background.

The prefixes are confusing, but is based on who owns the road, so kind of makes some sense.

That leaves, the colour of the route number itself. Looking at Google maps, it seems Blue is 'usually' for autopistas /autovias (but regionally owned Autop/vs seem to sometimes be Orange)

The route nationals seem to use a red route number, usually starts with prefix 'N'

Then there's Green backed route numbers that seem to be a secondary route, then yellow which appear to be a Tertiary route.

Above makes some sense. Then randomly there seems to be non-autop/v orange route numbers in some areas that seem to have about the same status as the green routes.

Then I've also found a few purple route numbers that seem to be the same standard as Tertiary routes.

Does anyone understand this system?

[exiled]

Does anyone understand this system?

Not even the national or regional governments.

Basically Wikipedia (tems and conditions apply agrees.

Blue is used for the autopistas and autovias. Except when it isn't. Andalucia, for example, uses orange cartouches for its autovias, possibly because it begins with A. As does autovia. But so do other regions.

Red is the remaining national network that is not autovia or autopista, the 'red de las carreterras del Estado'. Basically it looks like Spain copied the French system, and added in extra confusion.

[mwacuk]

I'd really like to think that there's some genius in Madrid (or somewhere in Spain) that had devised this system that's amazingly complicated, but has some meaning.

Seems Disappointingly unlikely.

[exiled]

Oh, there is logic there. As the wiki indicates the orange is for top level roads under the regional governments. Some seem to use that for the cartouche for autovias under regional management, some use the same blue as the state ones.

[mwacuk]

Oh, there is logic there. As the wiki indicates the orange is for top level roads under the regional governments. Some seem to use that for the cartouche for autovias under regional management, some use the same blue as the state ones.

Yes it seems to be the orange that is the most confusing part.

Interesting how few red routes still exist, they're presumably the UK equivalent to our single carriageway primary routes, but unlike the UK, the Spanish have now either upgraded or built autopistas/vias.

I was having an interesting conversation with my dad a few weeks ago and concluded that if East Yorkshire were in Spain, the A1079, A614, A164 (between the Humber Br and Beverley) and the A165 Hull to Bridlington would all be Autovias by now. Along with the A63 taking a full bypass around the top of Hull as well as a tunnel through the city centre on the existing A63.

[DiscoSteve]

Using area prefixes for what we would call 'significant' A roads for me is the most confusing - M-xxx in Madrid, A-xxx in Andalucia and C-xxx in Catalunya confuses the hell out of me! N for National is fine.

[exiled]

Oh, there is logic there. As the wiki indicates the orange is for top level roads under the regional governments. Some seem to use that for the cartouche for autovias under regional management, some use the same blue as the state ones.

Yes it seems to be the orange that is the most confusing part.

Interesting how few red routes still exist, they're presumably the UK equivalent to our single carriageway primary routes, but unlike the UK, the Spanish have now either upgraded or built autopistas/vias.

I was having an interesting conversation with my dad a few weeks ago and concluded that if East Yorkshire were in Spain, the A1079, A614, A164 (between the Humber Br and Beverley) and the A165 Hull to Bridlington would all be Autovias by now. Along with the A63 taking a full bypass around the top of Hull as well as a tunnel through the city centre on the existing A63.

A lot of the big N roads have become the autovias, the N-IV is the A4, the N-II the A2, the N-VI the A6 and so on. Most of the network has been devolved to the regional governments, that is where the C, A, Ara, EX, CV numbers come in. Except in Pais Vasco where the N is still used.

The N roads are the strategic long distance roads that have not become autovias or transferred to the regions. Some regions have more N roads than others due to ability to fund.

[mwacuk]

Some regions have more N roads than others due to ability to fund.

That probably explains some of what initially appears to be inconsistencies on the map.

So my take on this now is -
Blue - Autopista/Autovia
Red - National route (like a UK primary A road)
Orange - Major Route owned by Community (like the Community version of a UK primary route)
Green - like the UK equivalent of a non-primary A road
Yellow - like the UK equivalent of a B road

Another inconsistency I'm not sure of though is, why are some Community Autovias Blue and some Orange?

[exiled]

Some regions have more N roads than others due to ability to fund.

That probably explains some of what initially appears to be inconsistencies on the map.

So my take on this now is -
Blue - Autopista/Autovia
Red - National route (like a UK primary A road)
Orange - Major Route owned by Community (like the Community version of a UK primary route)
Green - like the UK equivalent of a non-primary A road
Yellow - like the UK equivalent of a B road

Another inconsistency I'm not sure of though is, why are some Community Autovias Blue and some Orange?

Choice of the Regional Government, I think it simply comes down to that. The signs are blue to indicate an autopista or an autovia, so the cartouche is less important. Andalucia and Cataluña are two of the more powerful regions, the first uses orange cartouches on them, the latter blue.

[Herned]

Does anyone understand this system?

No, as previously stated, because there is no overriding logic. It is simply the result of the provinces being able to do what they like

Provincial roads all having the same prefix regardless of the standard of the route is just weird too, I know that longer number = worse road is broadly correct but not always

And then you have situations like north of Granada where two motorways meet, both two digits and prefixed with "A", but the A means different things on each road.

Still, they have got a fantastic road network to get lost on

[Chris5156]

And then you have situations like north of Granada where two motorways meet, both two digits and prefixed with "A", but the A means different things on each road.

Andalucia’s use of the A prefix for its road network, when A was already in use for a different purpose within Andalucia and elsewhere, is unbelievably dumb. But then Spanish road numbering gives you the feeling they didn’t want it to make sense.

[Herned]

Andalucia’s use of the A prefix for its road network, when A was already in use for a different purpose within Andalucia and elsewhere, is unbelievably dumb. But then Spanish road numbering gives you the feeling they didn’t want it to make sense.

Absolutely. Murcia uses RM, presumably for Region de Murcia, to distinguish from Madrid, but it would seem very sensible to have used R"x" to denote regional roads everywhere

[exiled]

Andalucia’s use of the A prefix for its road network, when A was already in use for a different purpose within Andalucia and elsewhere, is unbelievably dumb. But then Spanish road numbering gives you the feeling they didn’t want it to make sense.

Absolutely. Murcia uses RM, presumably for Region de Murcia, to distinguish from Madrid, but it would seem very sensible to have used R"x" to denote regional roads everywhere

Murcia is the only one of the Autonomous Communities (Regions) that uses 'Region' as part of its name as far as I can tell. Its official name is the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia, I suppose to mark a difference from the city that it shares its name with. Though that said the Autonomous Community that covers Madrid is the Community of Madrid

[Chris5156]

I suppose the clue is the word “autonomous”… you can have autonomy or consistency, but not both!

[exiled]

I suppose the clue is the word “autonomous”… you can have autonomy or consistency, but not both!

In part it is because of the devolution to the autonomous communities. But roads in Spain are shared responsibilities, except in Pais Vasco where they are all devolved. PV also uses N for its main roads and the old Carreterras del Estado numbering. So it marks ownership. In the UK the roads in Scotland and Wales are all devolved, the numbering remains the UK wide system. In Belgium roads all passed with federalism to the three regions which retain the national numbering system. The N prefix is retained for main roads even though the national federal government in Brussels has nothing to do with their upkeep.

So you can have autonomy and consistency. Just Spain decided to go the road ownership model a la francaise with a massive dose of beginner federalism for added glamour.