Finnish national road 5
Finnish national road 5 (Finnish:Valtatie 5 or Viitostie, Swedish: Riksväg 5) is a main route connecting Lusi (Heinola) in the south of the country to Sodankylä in the north. It is 905 kilometres long.[1] In some places the standard of the road fails to meet that normally expected from a national road, but work to improve it is currently underway at several locations. National road 5 forms part of the E63 between Vehmasmäki (Kuopio) and Sodankylä.
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| Valtatie 5 / Riksväg 5 | |
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| Route information | |
| Maintained by Väylävirasto / Trafikledsverket (Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency) | |
| Length | 905 km (562 mi) |
| Major junctions | |
| From | Lusi, Heinola |
| To | Sodankylä |
| Location | |
| Major cities | Mikkeli, Kuopio, Kajaani, Kuusamo, Kemijärvi |
| Highway system | |
| Highways in Finland | |
The route
The first part of the road between Lusi and Mikkeli was rebuilt in the 1990s and the 2000s (decade). There is one short length of 2+2 laned road at Mikkeli, but the part between Mikkeli and Joroinen needs updating because it does not meet modern requirements. The next part between Joroinen and Varkaus has been constructed up to the national road standard and there is a 9 kilometer long bypass at Varkaus. Also, the next part of the road between Joroinen and Leppävirta is in good condition and many bypasses have been constructed, but the part from Leppävirta to Kuopio's Humaljoki is not in a good condition. At Humaljoki, national road 5 continues as a motorway. When the road passes Siilinjärvi, it changes back to the normal two-laned road, next part between Siilinjärvi and Iisalmi is like the normal national road. It runs along the Savonrata railway its whole length to Iisalmi. There is a bypass of Iisalmi town center via east. After Iisalmi, the road continues as a two-lane road due to smaller traffic volumes. From Iisalmi to Kemijärvi via Kajaani, the national road has almost the same traffic volume and same condition. After Kemijärvi, there is less traffic and the road construction does not meet national road standards.
The road runs through the following municipalities: Heinola – Pertunmaa – Mäntyharju – Hirvensalmi – Mikkeli – Juva – Joroinen – Varkaus – Leppävirta – Kuopio – Siilinjärvi – Lapinlahti – Iisalmi – Sonkajärvi – Kajaani – Paltamo – Ristijärvi – Hyrynsalmi – Suomussalmi – Taivalkoski – Kuusamo – Posio – Salla – Kemijärvi – Pelkosenniemi – Sodankylä.
Trivia
- Kuortti's ABC filling station is the most popular in Finland in terms of sales; according to the cooperative, in 2017 more than three million customers visited it.[2]
- The band Aavikko has written a song about National road 5 called "Viitostie".
- Owing to the high level of traffic accidents recorded on National road 5, several Finnish tabloid magazines have nicknamed it "the road of death" (Finnish: "Viitostie, kuoleman tie").
References
External links
