Ring I (pronounced "ring one", fi, Kehä I, sv, Ring I) is the busiest road in Finland, carrying up to 113,000 vehicles per day. It is the innermost of the three

beltway A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...

s in the

Greater Helsinki Greater Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin seutu, Suur-Helsinki, Swedish: ''Helsingforsregionen'', ''Storhelsingfors'') is the metropolitan area surrounding Helsinki, the capital city of Finland. It includes the smaller Capital Region (''Pääkaupunkiseutu' ...

region, numbered as regional route 101 and runs from the easternmost part of

Espoo Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...

Itäkeskus Itäkeskus ( sv, Östra centrum, literal translation ''East center'') is a ''quarter'' in the neighbourhood of Vartiokylä (as of the 1980s) in Helsinki, Finland. The district's main attraction is the largest covered-in shopping mall in the Nordic ...

in eastern

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

. The total length is , of which are in Helsinki. It is primarily intended for local traffic—before the large road numbering change in the 1990s and the reconstruction of

Ring III Kehä III (''"ring three"'', ''National road 50''; or fi, Kehä III or ; or ) is an important highway in Southern Finland. It is the outermost of the three beltways in the Helsinki region, and the first one to be built. It lies across the fou ...

, Ring I was also designated as a bypass for avoiding Helsinki centre.

Overview

Ring I has at least two

lane In road transport, a lane is part of a roadway that is designated to be used by a single line of vehicles to control and guide drivers and reduce traffic conflicts. Most public roads (highways) have at least two lanes, one for traffic in each ...

s per direction for its entire length but a

speed limit Speed limits on road traffic, as used in most countries, set the legal maximum speed at which vehicles may travel on a given stretch of road. Speed limits are generally indicated on a traffic sign reflecting the maximum permitted speed - expres ...

that never exceeds owing to heavy traffic. With the introduction of new grade-separated

interchanges Interchange may refer to: Transport * Interchange (road), a collection of ramps, exits, and entrances between two or more highways * Interchange (freight rail), the transfer of freight cars between railroad companies * Interchange station, a rai ...

, provisions have been made to increase the speed limits to 70–80 km/h. Eventually, all of the junctions on Ring I will be upgraded to grade-separated interchanges. However, the road was not originally constructed as a

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...

, which limits its capacity..

External links

Ring roads in Finland Roads in Finland Streets in Helsinki Transport in Helsinki Transport in Espoo {{Europe-road-stub

Overview

See also

External links