European route E59

E59
E59 as Austrian A2 motorway south of Vienna
Route information
Length:	680 km (420 mi)
Major junctions
North end:	Prague
	D1 near Jihlava A4 in Vienna A2 near Graz A1 near Maribor
South end:	A3 near Zagreb
Location
Countries:	Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia
Highway system
International E-road network ← E58 E60 →

International E-road network

European route E 59 is a north-south Class-A intermediate European route. It begins in Prague, Czech Republic, passes through Vienna, Austria and Maribor, Slovenia, ending near Zagreb, Croatia. The total length of the route is 644 km (400 mi). The E59 largely consists of motorways but some sections are developed either as expressways or two-lane roads with at-grade intersections. The motorway sections are generally tolled through varying systems and rates. Individual segments of the E59 route are shared with several other European routes. Originally, the route extended through Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina to Split, Croatia.

Route of the E59 starts in Prague, Czech Republic, and proceeds southeast along the D1 motorway towards Jihlava, where it leaves the motorway and turns south along the route 38, a regular road comprising at-grade intersections. The route passes near Moravské Budějovice and Znojmo. It crosses from the Czech Republic to Austria between Chvalovice and Haugsdorf as it switches to Austrian B303 state road, representing another two-lane road with at-grade intersections. South of Hollabrunn, the E59 transfers to the S3 expressway until it reaches and the A22 which carries the E59 east to Vienna. Within the city, the E59 turns south once again in Donaustadt, transferring to the A23 taking it to the southern outskirts of the city. There it proceeds further south along the A2 motorway taking the route past Wiener Neustadt to the city of Graz. Graz itself is bypassed by the motorway and the E59 switches there to the A9 motorway marking the final southbound leg of the E59 through Austria until it reaches Spielfeld/Šentilj border crossing to Slovenia. South of the border crossing the E59 route follows the Slovenian A1 motorway to the south of Maribor where the E59 leaves the A1 route and joins the A4 towards Ptuj. At Draženci near Ptuj, the route defaults to route 9, another two-lane road comprising at-grade intersections, taking it to Gruškovje/Macelj border crossing to Croatia. South of the border, the E59 follows Croatian A2 motorway running past Krapina to Zagreb. The E59 terminates at Jankomir interchange of the Zagreb bypass, where southbound E59 traffic defaults to the eastbound A3 motorway. Originally the E59 extended further south past Zagreb, to Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Split at the Adriatic Sea coast, however, that segment of the route was subsequently transferred to the European route E71. Nonetheless, the E59 shares segments of the route with a number of other European routes. A part of the E59 spanning Prague and Vienna corresponds to the Pan-European Corridor IV, and the segment spanning Graz and Zagreb corresponds to the Pan-European Corridor Xa.