European route E22 in the Netherlands

• In 1950, when the e-roads were first aligned, part of E10 and part of E35 followed the current alignment of E22 in the Netherlands. E10 from Amsterdam to Groningen, though in Friesland following N31 / A31 instead of N7 / A7 as E22 does nowadays. And E35 from Groningen to the German border. E22, back then, ran from Berlin in Germany to Przemysl in the USSR.[3]
• In 1954, E10, originally running from Paris, through Brussels, Antwerpen, Breda, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Leeuwarden and Groningen, now had its Northern terminus in Amsterdam and thereby no longer followed any section of the current E22 in the Netherlands.[4]
• In 1963, E10 was back to its 1950 alignment, putting its northern terminus back in Groningen and following the current alignment of E22.[5]
• In 1975, E22 was realigned from its route that it followed then, from Germany to the USSR, to its current alignment from Amsterdam to the German border east of Groningen (the part in the Netherlands). E10, the road that used to follow E22's current alignment was no longer in use (it would be used in a few years, but not on E22's current alignment). E35 was realigned to a totally different course from Hoek van Holland to Arnhem in the Netherlands (and to Cologne, Frankfurt am Main, Basel and Rome beyond that).[6]

In 1950, when E10 and E35 followed the course of current E22, most of the underlying road wasn't constructed yet. There were only the N7 from Hoorn-Noord to Lambertschaag, from Middenmeer in North Holland to Bolsward in Friesland over the Afsluitdijk, from Sneek to Heerenveen and from Sappemeer to Scheemda, and the provincial road S14 from Zaandijk to Purmerend-Zuid, all with at grade intersections and one lane in each direction.[7][8][9]

From 1966 to 1975, motorway A10, the ring road around Amsterdam was constructed with grade separated intersections and mostly three lanes in each direction between E22's western terminus in the Netherlands at Interchange De Nieuwe Meer and Interchange Coenplein (now known as Interchange Coenplein-Noord), where E22 will stop following A10 and starts running over A8's alignment to the northwest. Between 1966 and 1968 A8, the road E22 runs concurrently with between Amsterdam and Zaandam, was constructed with grade separated intersections and two lanes in each direction. In 1959, a missing link between two parts of N7 was constructed, from Lambertschaag to Middenmeer, with at grade intersections and one lane in each direction. Between 1976 and 1982, the last missing link in N7/A7 in North Holland was constructed as A7, in parts, between Purmerend-Zuid and Hoorn-Noord, with grade separated intersections and two lanes in each direction. By 1985, the entire road from Interchange Zaandam to Zurich, east of the Afsluitdijk, the part of N7/A7 in North Holland, was upgraded to A7 with grade separated intersections and two lanes in each direction.

Between 2007 and 2014, a second tunnel, the second Coentunnel, under the IJ was constructed, widening A10 here to three lanes in each direction with two additional reversible lanes to help traffic flow in rush hour.

A8 between Coenplein Interchange and Zaandam Interchange was widened to three lanes in each direction in 1990, and then widened again to four lanes in each direction in 2013. In 2015, a fifth southbound lane was added between Zaandam Interchange and Coenplein Interchange, and northbound between a gas station just north of exit Oostzaan and Zaandam Interchange, which are narrower and only opened in rush hour.

In Friesland, N7 was extended east beyond Bolsward to Nijland as A7 with grade separated intersections and two lanes in each direction. Between 1972 and 1978, all of N7 between Zurich and Joure Interchange was opened and/or upgraded to A7 with grade separated intersections and two lanes in each direction, except for the section that was the southern part of the ring road around Sneek, which remained N7 with a much lower maximum speed, though with grade separated intersections as well. The part of N7 that functions as the ring road around Sneek was upgraded again between 2008 and 2010, and now has two lanes in each direction.

Between 1956 and 1960, N7 was extended east from Heerenveen to Groningen, and the part between Sappemeer and Scheemda was also extended in both directions between 1955 and 1957 and would then run between Hoogezand and Winschoten, all with at grade intersections and one lane in each direction. In 1969 N7 was opened between Winschoten and the German border near Nieuweschans with grade separated intersections and one lane in each direction. Between 1972 and 1973, the missing link between Groningen and Hoogezand was opened as A7 with grade separated intersections and two lanes in each direction, though with a slightly different course through Groningen than it has nowadays, it used to go over the Europaweg, until Euvelgunne Interchange was opened in 2009. Between 1972 and 1983, N7 between Heerenveen and western Groningen was upgraded to A7 with grade separated intersections and two lanes in each direction. Between 1988 and 1993, N7 between Hoogezand and the German border was upgraded to A7 with grade separated intersections and two lanes in each direction. It was also then realigned to go north of Scheemda instead of through it. In 2009, as before mentioned, Euvelgunne Interchange was opened, and N7 would now approach this interchange from the west and then go south to Engelbert, with two lanes in each direction, grade separated intersections, but a lowered speed, meaning it would still be called N7.