European route E6

European route E6 (Norwegian: Europaveg 6, Swedish: Europaväg 6, or simply E6) is the main north–south thoroughfare through Norway as well as the west coast of Sweden. It is 3,056 km (1,899 mi) long and runs from the southern tip of Sweden at Trelleborg, into Norway and through almost all of the country north to the Arctic Circle. As many travellers who love road trips use E6 to get to Nordkapp, a common misconception is that E6 leads to North Cape, but the route ends in Kirkenes close to the Russian border. To get to North Cape, one has to fork off E6 at Olderfjord and take European route E69, from the mainland through the North Cape Tunnel, onto the island of Magerøya. The Norwegian part of E6 functions as Norway's transport backbone, often being the only continuous paved road, connecting north and south. When E6 gets interrupted, Norway gets cut into two pieces (Norge er delt i to), and detours are often hundreds of kilometers long, through Sweden, or along the coast, involving ferry crossings. More examples of frequent closures of E6 can be found below, in the chapter Vulnerable infrastructure, often interrupted.

Route