Kehä III
Encyclopedia
Kehä III is an important highway
in Southern Finland
. It is the outermost of the three beltways in the Helsinki region
, and the first one to be built. It lies across the four Finnish municipalities of Kirkkonummi
, Espoo
, Vantaa
and Helsinki
. Shaped like an arch
, the road is 46 kilometres (28.6 mi) long, of which only a very small fraction passes within the borders of Helsinki itself.
Work on Kehä III started in 1962, on the base of an existing road. The construction was finished in 1972, initially with only one lane
per direction. Most of the Ring has since been expanded to at least two lanes per direction, although the western-most end is still one-lane per direction in places.
The most recent construction work has been extensive renovation on its busiest stretch in Vantaa, where several interchanges
have been built or improved, and lanes added. Industrial development along the road has introduced higher volumes of heavy traffic.
The European route E18
is routed through Kehä III, bypassing central Helsinki.
In the mid-1970s, the road between Tikkurila
and Helsinki-Vantaa Airport
was renovated and 10 years later the road was expanded to four lanes up to Vihdintie. At the end of the 1980s, the road was extended to Muurala and then once again one kilometer farther to the west. This same stretch was rebuilt shortly afterwards when it was expanded to four lanes up through Gumböle during the 1990s. Throughout the 1980s, stretches of Kehä III were completed to the Lahti
motorway and in the 1990s to the Porvoo
motorway. The road to Vuosaari Harbour
, completed in 2007, extends from the eastern endpoint of Kehä III. At the start of 2000s major improvements were made to the heavily used stretch from Tikkurila to Helsinki-Vantaa Airport: the road was widened to 6 lanes and Tuusula
motorway's intersection was rebuilt as a large system connection.
When the road was originally built, it was simply called the "Ring road", but the planning of the other two major roads caused confusion. Therefore it was called Kehä III from the 1970s onward.
Highways in Finland
Roads in Finland comprise of highways, paved and gravel roads which are divided in four to five classes according to their local importance...
in Southern Finland
Southern Finland
Southern Finland was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2010. It bordered the provinces of Western Finland and Eastern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Finland and Russia.- History :...
. It is the outermost of the three beltways in the Helsinki region
Greater Helsinki
Greater Helsinki and the smaller Helsinki Metropolitan Area or Capital Region refer to two regions of different size surrounding Helsinki, the capital of Finland...
, and the first one to be built. It lies across the four Finnish municipalities of Kirkkonummi
Kirkkonummi
Kirkkonummi is a municipality of inhabitants in southern Finland. The literal meaning of the words "Kirkkonummi" and "Kyrkslätt" in English is "church moor"....
, Espoo
Espoo
Espoo is the second largest city and municipality in Finland. The population of the city of Espoo is . It is part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area along with the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, and Kauniainen. Espoo shares its eastern border with Helsinki and Vantaa, while enclosing Kauniainen....
, Vantaa
Vantaa
Vantaa is a city and municipality in Finland. Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen make up the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.Vantaa, with its population of , is the fourth most populated city of Finland. The biggest airport in Finland, the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, is located there...
and Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
. Shaped like an arch
Arch
An arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...
, the road is 46 kilometres (28.6 mi) long, of which only a very small fraction passes within the borders of Helsinki itself.
Work on Kehä III started in 1962, on the base of an existing road. The construction was finished in 1972, initially with only one lane
Lane
A lane is a part of the roadway within a road marked out for use by a single line of vehicles in such a way as to control and guide drivers for the purpose of reducing traffic conflicts. Most public roads have at least two lanes, one for traffic in each direction, separated by Lane markings...
per direction. Most of the Ring has since been expanded to at least two lanes per direction, although the western-most end is still one-lane per direction in places.
The most recent construction work has been extensive renovation on its busiest stretch in Vantaa, where several interchanges
Interchange (road)
In the field of road transport, an interchange is a road junction that typically uses grade separation, and one or more ramps, to permit traffic on at least one highway to pass through the junction without directly crossing any other traffic stream. It differs from a standard intersection, at which...
have been built or improved, and lanes added. Industrial development along the road has introduced higher volumes of heavy traffic.
The European route E18
European route E18
European route E18 runs from Craigavon in the United Kingdom to Saint Petersburg in Russia, passing through Norway, Sweden, and Finland. It is about 1,890 km in length.-United Kingdom:...
is routed through Kehä III, bypassing central Helsinki.
History
The beginning was constructed between 1962 and 1964 from Bemböle to Länsisalmi and the continuation to Jorvas was completed in 1965. Originally, each road was two lanes wide. The amount of traffic grew considerably over time and as a result the original intersections with Helsinki's exit roads became dangerous. Therefore, all intersections with the city exits had been rebuilt as merging loops by the beginning of the 1970s. The road has undergone almost continual modification and widening throughout its existence as traffic has increased in the region.In the mid-1970s, the road between Tikkurila
Tikkurila
Tikkurila is a district of the municipality of Vantaa, Finland. Located in the eastern half of the Helsinki conurbation, some north of the capital's downtown district, it is the administrative and commercial hub of Vantaa, although Myyrmäki is a rival shopping centre within the municipality and...
and Helsinki-Vantaa Airport
Helsinki-Vantaa Airport
Helsinki Airport or Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is the main international airport of the Helsinki metropolitan region and the whole of Finland. It is located in Vantaa, Finland, about west of Tikkurila, the centre of Vantaa, and north of Helsinki city centre...
was renovated and 10 years later the road was expanded to four lanes up to Vihdintie. At the end of the 1980s, the road was extended to Muurala and then once again one kilometer farther to the west. This same stretch was rebuilt shortly afterwards when it was expanded to four lanes up through Gumböle during the 1990s. Throughout the 1980s, stretches of Kehä III were completed to the Lahti
Lahti
Lahti is a city and municipality in Finland.Lahti is the capital of the Päijänne Tavastia region. It is situated on a bay at the southern end of lake Vesijärvi about north-east of the capital Helsinki...
motorway and in the 1990s to the Porvoo
Porvoo
Porvoo is a city and a municipality situated on the southern coast of Finland approximately east of Helsinki. Porvoo is one of the six medieval towns in Finland, first mentioned as a city in texts from 14th century...
motorway. The road to Vuosaari Harbour
Vuosaari Harbour
Vuosaari Harbour is a seaport facility in Helsinki, Finland, opened in November 2008....
, completed in 2007, extends from the eastern endpoint of Kehä III. At the start of 2000s major improvements were made to the heavily used stretch from Tikkurila to Helsinki-Vantaa Airport: the road was widened to 6 lanes and Tuusula
Tuusula
Tuusula is a municipality of Finland. It belongs to the Helsinki sub-region of the Uusimaa region. The municipality has a population of .-Geography:...
motorway's intersection was rebuilt as a large system connection.
When the road was originally built, it was simply called the "Ring road", but the planning of the other two major roads caused confusion. Therefore it was called Kehä III from the 1970s onward.