European route E22

European route E22
Country	EUR
Route	E22
Length km	5320
Terminus a	Holyhead
Terminus b	Ishim
Countries	United Kingdom; Netherlands; Germany; Sweden; Latvia; Russia; Kazakhstan

European route E22 is a transcontinental road in the international E-road network linking the British Isles with western Siberia via Western Europe, Scandinavia and the Baltic states. It connects major ports, industrial centers and regional hubs and traverses diverse landscapes from the Irish Sea coast at Holyhead through Liverpool, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Norrköping, Stockholm, Riga, Moscow to Ishim. The corridor serves as a strategic link for freight, passenger travel and regional integration between the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Latvia, Russia and Kazakhstan.

Route description

The western terminus at Holyhead on Anglesey connects to ferry services across the Irish Sea and to trunk roads toward London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and the M6 motorway (Great Britain). In the Netherlands the route runs via the A7 motorway (Netherlands), passing through Amsterdam, Groningen and linking to the Afsluitdijk and the Wadden coast. Crossing into Germany, E22 follows corridors near Leer (Ostfriesland), converging with roads to Bremen, Hamburg and the A1 autobahn. In Sweden the route includes ferry crossings to link Norrköping, Nyköping and Stockholm and continues north-south corridors used by traffic to and from Uppsala and Södertälje. Through the Baltic states E22 is aligned with routes serving Riga and regional ports before entering the Russian federal road network via the Gatchina–Saint Petersburg approaches and onward to Moscow along historic highways connecting to Tver and Yaroslavl en route to Ishim in Tyumen Oblast.

History

The alignment of the road traces older medieval and modern trade routes that linked the British Isles, the Low Countries, and the Hanoverian and Tsardom of Russia spheres. The E-road numbering scheme was adopted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe after World War II to rationalize international carriageways, and the present E22 designation emerged from revisions during the 1960s and 1970s that integrated national motorways such as the M6 motorway (Great Britain), the A7 motorway (Netherlands), the A1 autobahn and the European route E18 and European route E30 corridors. During the late 20th century, port expansions at Felixstowe, Amsterdam Port, Hamburg Port Authority and Ust-Luga shaped freight flows along the route; post-Soviet infrastructure programmes in the Russian Federation and accession-related upgrades in the European Union altered the corridor’s capacity and alignment. Historic events like the expansion of the European Union and the dissolution of the Soviet Union influenced border controls and funding mechanisms for roadworks along the route.

Major junctions and connections

E22 intersects multiple international corridors and national arteries, providing interchanges with the M6 motorway (Great Britain), the A55 road (Wales), the A7 motorway (Netherlands), the A28 (Netherlands), the A1 autobahn, the A24 (Germany), and key Swedish national roads near Stockholm. It links maritime gateways including Holyhead port, Port of Liverpool, Port of Amsterdam, Port of Hamburg, Port of Stockholm, Port of Riga and Russian terminals such as Port of Saint Petersburg and Port of Ust-Luga. Rail and multimodal interchanges occur near Crewe railway station, Amsterdam Centraal, Hamburg Hauptbahnhof, Stockholm Central Station, Riga Central Station and Moscow Leningradsky railway station, facilitating combined road-rail logistics with operators like British Rail (historic), Nederlandse Spoorwegen, Deutsche Bahn, SJ AB and Russian Railways.

Traffic and usage

Traffic on the corridor varies: heavy freight volumes dominate sections near the Port of Rotterdam and Port of Hamburg, while passenger commuter flows are significant around Liverpool, Amsterdam, Stockholm and Moscow. Seasonal tourism increases traffic toward coastal areas such as the Wadden Sea and the Stockholm archipelago. Border crossings at EU–Russia frontiers near Narva and Ivangorod historically caused bottlenecks influenced by customs regimes and visas administered under frameworks like the Schengen Area and bilateral agreements with the Russian Federation. Traffic studies by institutions including the European Commission and national transport ministries have documented modal shifts and congestion points, prompting capacity upgrades and regulatory adjustments.

Infrastructure and maintenance

Maintenance responsibility is distributed among national and regional authorities: the National Highways (England) network handles UK sections historically; Rijkswaterstaat maintains Dutch stretches; the Bundesministerium für Verkehr and state authorities manage German autobahn segments; the Trafikverket oversees Swedish sections; Latvian road administration administers Baltic parts; and the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation supervises Russian stretches. Funding has come from national budgets, European Investment Bank loans, European Structural and Investment Funds and bilateral financing involving entities such as the Nordic Investment Bank. Asset management covers bridge inspections, winter maintenance near Scandinavia, pavement rehabilitation and ferry terminals where the route requires sea crossings.

Future developments and proposals

Proposals include motorway upgrades in bottleneck sections, bypasses around urban centers like Riga and Stockholm, and improved border-crossing facilities to streamline freight between the European Union and the Russian Federation. Multilateral initiatives involving the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the European Commission and regional development banks propose harmonized standards, Intelligent Transport Systems deployments, and climate resilience measures in response to extreme weather linked to European climate change impacts. Debates over route alignment and investment also reference EU transport policy instruments such as the Trans-European Transport Network and national strategic plans from governments including United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Latvia and Russia.

Category:International E-road network Category:Roads in the United Kingdom Category:Roads in the Netherlands Category:Roads in Germany Category:Roads in Sweden Category:Roads in Latvia Category:Roads in Russia