Länsiväylä
Länsiväylä (the Western Highway, Swedish: Västerleden) is a
At the start of Länsiväylä is the Lapinlahti bridge built in 1965, which was the longest bridge in Finland for a long time.[1] In September 2013 the average daily traffic over the bridge was 56,710 cars, according to calculations by the city of Helsinki.[2]
Länsiväylä is perhaps the most important connection between the cities of Helsinki and Espoo. Almost all bus and private car traffic between central Helsinki and southern Espoo (such as the
A similar road, the Itäväylä (Eastern Highway, Swedish: Österleden) begins at Sörnäinen and continues eastwards towards Sipoo.
History
Building the highway started in 1961.
The predecessor of Länsiväylä from 1933 to 1938 was Jorvaksentie, a two-lane highway leading from Helsinki to Jorvas in Kirkkonummi. Parts of the highway on the Helsinki end acting as parts of the same connection were a causeway leading from Ruoholahti to Salmisaari, as well as the original Lauttasaari bridge leading to Lauttasaari and the Lauttasaarentie street going through the entire island of Lauttasaari, which got its current name already in 1938.[7] Jorvaksentie proper began from the western end of Lauttasaarentie, which went over bridges and causeways via the islands of Koivusaari and Hanasaari to Karhusaari in Espoo, where it continued through southern Espoo to Espoonlahti, which it went over on the Muulo bridge, and further onto Kirkkonummi up to Jorvas. There it joined the old King's Road going through Muurala and Kauklahti.[1]
When the new highway numbering system was taken into use in 1938, Jorvaksentie became part of Finnish national road 51. Its westernmost part was left in the Porkkala Naval Base in 1944, so the national road had to be rerouted via Kauklahti and Siuntio.[1] Jorvaksentie later lost its status as a national road, but in 1972 Länsiväylä became a part of the national road 51 again.[1]
As southern Espoo grew in population, Jorvaksentie became hopelessly insufficient, so a motor highway was built to replace it. The part of the highway from the western part of
The part of the highway in Helsinki was named Länsiväylä already in the planning stage in 1961.[7] In Espoo the road was still named Jorvaksentie when the highway was built,[8] but the name Länsiväylä was later also taken into use in Espoo. The road is still sometimes referred to as Jorvaksentie, but this name officially only refers to the part of national road 51 in Kirkkonummi.
Construction of parallel roads
At the same time as the highway was built, a parallel street was built to the north of it, leading from
There have been new connections built to the beltways and Tapiola from time to time, and on its widest part between Tapiola and Westend the highway has 12 lanes. A new connection was built at the Iso Omena shopping centre between Matinkylä and Olari in the early 2000s.
There has been a parallel street to the south of Länsiväylä planned right from the start, but the connection to Haukilahti over Gräsanoja was only built in the early 2000s, and the parallel street Suomenlahdentie to Suomenoja was only built in 2016. There are separate ways for light traffic along Länsiväylä.
Images
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Länsiväylä besides of Nöykkiö, time of evening rush hour, behind intersection ofSuomenoja
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Länsiväylä, view from Koivusaari to the center of Helsinki
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Länsiväylä, section of Lauttasaari
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Länsiväylä next to Westend
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Länsiväylä next to Westend, view to Keilaniemi
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Länsiväylä and the towers of Keilaniemi
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Länsiväylä next to Westend, behind headquarters of Kone and Microsoft
Other uses
Länsiväylä is the name of a Finnish language free newspaper distributed in Espoo, Kauniainen and Kirkkonummi.
60°10′06″N 024°47′40″E / 60.16833°N 24.79444°E
References
- ^ a b c d Kantatie 51, Länsiväylä, Jorvaksentie, Helsinki-Karjaa 75 km, Matti Grönroos. Accessed on 15 May 2011.
- ISSN 0787-9067. Online versionaccessed on 28 February 2015.
- ^ ISBN 978-9525671-47-6.
- ISBN 951-9082-04-02 Parameter error in {{ISBN}}: length.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-11-04. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Kenen Helsinki (1970) | Niemi 1-liikennesuunnitelma - Helsingin tieverkko 1980
- ^ ISBN 951-771-220-0.
- ^ Helsinki guide map 1966
- ^ Kt51:n entistä tielinjaa Espoossa, Matti Grönroos. Accessed on 15 March 2011.