Main road E8
Description
The main road E8 is the most important transport route between Finland and Norway. Norwegian salmon is transported via this road from North Norway to Helsinki Airport. The amount of heavy vehicles from daily traffic is over 25 %.
Some part of the road is not good to drive even in summer but especially poor in winter period. Some part of road has been built 1945 year and not renovated since that.
Heavy vehicles meet each other on the narrow road causing unpredictable situations that cannot be always avoided.
Central line is not marked in the narrowest road sections in the northern part. The highest point of Finnish road can be found in the Muotkatakka (565 metres above sea level) around 12 km from Kilpisjärvi village to the south. Road edges are covered by snow or higher snowbanks in winter. Packed snow on the road on windy days. The road can be closed from time to time because of bad winter weather conditions.
When driving north on late summer evening or night, the low arc light can reflect heavily and prevents visibility very strongly. Reindeer can lay and walk on the road. Due to narrowness and slipperiness trucks are driving off the road sometimes in the winter.
Road users vary mainly between personal cars, heavy vehicles, and trucks. Heavy vehicles and snow ploughs cause snow fog and circulating snow on frosty days behind them. That prevents visibility strongly.
Positioning accuracy down to 5 centimetres.
Characteristics
Length, 196 km
Lane width, vary from very narrow to 3,5 m
Type of road, main road
State of road, vary from bad to good
Maximum speed, 40-80/h
Number of intersections: 3
Number of bridges: few
Mobile network coverage: vary from none to good
