Nationale Wegen (National Highways) or simply N-wegen (N-roads), was a numbering system for a set of main highway routes in the Netherlands, used from 1957 through 1976.
The Netherlands is a country located mainly in Northwestern Europe. The European portion of the Netherlands consists of twelve separate provinces that border Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, with maritime borders in the North Sea with Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom. Together with three island territories in the Caribbean Sea—Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba— it forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The official language is Dutch, but a secondary official language in the province of Friesland is West Frisian.
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In 1957, signposted road numbering was introduced in the Netherlands and the governments Rijkswegen plan foresaw in an increasing number of highways, together forming a nationwide system. Alongside the pan-European E-road numbers, which were given to routes of international importance, a complementing series of N-road numbers was devised to designate those routes not included in the European system, but considered of national significance. [1]
A routenumber is an identifying numeric designation assigned by a highway authority to a particular stretch of roadway to distinguish it from other routes and, in many cases, also to indicate its classification, general geographical location and/or orientation. The numbers chosen may be used solely for internal administrative purposes; however, in most cases they are also displayed on roadside signage and indicated on maps.
The international E-road network is a numbering system for roads in Europe developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The network is numbered from E 1 up and its roads cross national borders. It also reaches Central Asian countries like Kyrgyzstan, since they are members of the UNECE.
In 1976, the until then administrative only Rijksweg numbers were adopted as the new road denominations, along with a completely new series of N-numbers for Non motorway highways, in 1978. The original brown N-numbers on road-signs were since then replaced with red A-numbers, for Dutch motorways, and new yellow N-numbers for other highways.
The E-road system was significantly renumbered in 1985, but remains signposted everywhere in the Netherlands. [2]
For this road system the numbers 89 to 100 were used. This is because the numbers leading up to 85 were used for the original Rijksstraatwegen and later the modern rijkswegen count.
Rijksstraatweg or simply Straatweg was the term for paved roads of interregional significance in the Netherlands in the 19th and early 20th centuries. These roads were built by the national government, and formed the country's first centrally planned highway network. They received route numbers, eventually resulting in a nationwide network of 82 highways. It formed the basis for today's system of nationally controlled roads, the Netherlands' main highway grid.
