The A8 is a
national road in Latvia connecting
Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
to
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
n border (
Meitene), through
Jelgava
Jelgava (; german: Mitau, ; see also other names) is a state city in central Latvia about southwest of Riga with 55,972 inhabitants (2019). It is the largest town in the region of Zemgale (Semigalia). Jelgava was the capital of the united Duch ...
, also known as Jelgava highway in
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
. The road is part of
European route E77
European route E 77 is a part of the inter-European road system. This Class A intermediate north–south route is long and it connects the Baltic Sea with the central part of the continent.
History
In the version of the E-road network e ...
and Latvian
TEN-T
The Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) is a planned network of roads, railways, airports and water infrastructure in the European Union. The TEN-T network is part of a wider system of Trans-European Networks (TENs), including a telecommunic ...
road network. After the border, the road turns into
Lithuanian A12. The length of A8 in Latvian territory is 76 kilometers. Currently A8 has 2x2 lanes until
Jelgava
Jelgava (; german: Mitau, ; see also other names) is a state city in central Latvia about southwest of Riga with 55,972 inhabitants (2019). It is the largest town in the region of Zemgale (Semigalia). Jelgava was the capital of the united Duch ...
bypass, other parts have 1x1 or 2x1 lanes. The current speed limit is 100 km/h. Plans to reconstruct A8 in to a motorway have been many. First, in 2004, then in 2010, but they never started due to financial reasons. In the recent years A8 has been reconstructed in many stretches. The average
AADT
Annual average daily traffic, abbreviated AADT, is a measure used primarily in transportation planning, transportation engineering and retail location selection. Traditionally, it is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a y ...
on A8 in 2015 was 13,711 cars per day.
A08
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