Finnish national road 8

Finnish national road 8
Valtatie 8, Riksväg 8
Route information
Maintained by the Finnish Transport Agency
Length:	626 km (389 mi)
Existed:	1938 – present
Major junctions
From:	Turku
	Vaasa
To:	Liminka
Location
Major cities:	Rauma, Pori, Vaasa, Kokkola
Highway system
Highways in Finland

Finnish national road 8 (Finnish: valtatie 8, Swedish: riksväg 8) runs along the western coast of Finland. The road starts at Turku, continues to Vaasa and ends in the intersection with Finnish national road 4 in Liminka, 25 km south of Oulu. It constitutes much of the length of European route E8. Cities along the road are Rauma, Pori, Kristinestad, Närpes, Vaasa, Nykarleby, Kokkola and Raahe. From Liminka, the road continues to the same direction to Oulu as road 4; road 4 to Liminka intersects it from the left.

Overview

Although running along the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia, it is not a scenic coastal road: the only views of the sea are when the road crosses the mouth of Kyrönjoki river in Vassor, Korsholm and Oravaisfjärden, Oravais (Finnish: Oravaistenlahti, Oravainen). Most of the road is regular road with one lane in each direction. There are short sections of motorway in the stretches Turku–Raisio and Vaasa–Helsingby (motorway exiting Vaasa, shared with Finnish national road 3). A motorway extension is under construction between Raisio and Masku, expected to be completed in 2016.^[1]

Route

The road goes through the following municipalities: Turku – Raisio – Masku – Nousiainen – Mynämäki – Laitila – Pyhäranta – Rauma – Eurajoki – Luvia – Pori – Merikarvia – Kristinestad – Närpes – Malax – Korsholm (south) – Vaasa – Korsholm (north) – Vörå – Nykarleby – Pedersöre – Kronoby – Kokkola – Kalajoki – Pyhäjoki – Raahe – Siikajoki – Lumijoki – Liminka.

In Vaasa and Korsholm, the road (as Porintie) merges with the Vaasa-Helsingby motorway in Vikby, continues along this road to a motorway exit into Yhdystie, which bypasses Vaasa city center from east, and again through an exit to the right (east) as Kokkolantie into Kokkola and beyond.

A notable bypass is that of Nykarleby and Jakobstad, which lie some 9–10 km north of the road.

History

The route has been almost the same since the establishment of the numbering system in 1938, although the road has been rebuilt along its whole length at least once. Two major changes have been made: the bypass of Nykarleby and replacement of the Siikajoki–Lumijoki route with a route through Revonlahti, where the road now goes straight from Raahe to Liminka without circling along the coast. Furthermore, bypasses have been built around cities. A new bypass of Sepänkylä near Vaasa is under construction.

References

External links

Media related to National road 8 (Finland) at Wikimedia Commons

Highways in Finland
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