Route 1 (Iceland)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Ring Road of Iceland and some towns it passes through: (1) Reykjavík; (2) Borgarnes; (3) Blönduós; (4) Akureyri; (5) Egilsstaðir; (6) Höfn; (7) Selfoss

Route 1 or the Ring Road (Icelandic: Þjóðvegur 1 or Hringvegur) is a main road in Iceland that runs around the island and connects all habitable parts of the country together (the interior of the island being uninhabited). The total length of the road is 1339 km (840 miles).

For almost all its length, the road is two lanes wide with one lane in each direction except when it passes through larger towns and cities where it may be expanded to more lanes as well as in the Hvalfjörður Tunnel. Most smaller bridges are single lane and made of wood and/or steel. The road is paved with asphalt for most of its length but there are still stretches of it in the east part of the country that are unpaved and with gravel surface.

The amount of traffic on the road varies a lot depending on location; in and near Reykjavík it is around 5,000–10,000 vehicles per day but the stretches farthest away from larger towns see fewer than 100 vehicles per day on average.

Although paved, some portions of the road are still the original 1940s country roads, and contain hazards such as blind bends and blind hills, one lane bridges, and narrow passes.

The circle was finished in 1974 when the bridge over Skeiðará river in Southern Iceland was opened.

The road has been popular with tourists for decades since it covers a lot of the country and many interesting sights are not far from it. It has been an especially popular tour with Icelandic families on summer vacation, but in later years the route is becoming more popular with foreigners who like to either rent a car or bring their own on the ferry to Seyðisfjörður.

The maximum speed on most of the road is 90 kilometres per hour (56 miles per hour) where paved and 80 kilometers per hour over gravel.