The Stockholm Ring Road is a half-completed ring road around central Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

. There have been many plans over the years of a ring road around central Stockholm, but all of them have been cancelled at some point. , about half of the ring road is now built.

History

The first plan to build a motorway ring road around central Stockholm arose in the 1950s. The recent ring road project in Stockholm has its origin in the Dennis Agreement  from 1992, which was a political agreement to build new roads and improve public transport in and around Stockholm. As the agreement was eventually broken in 1997 due to criticism from environmental groups and the political parties left outside the agreement, the future of a complete ring road became uncertain.

A possibility of a ring road being completed arose in the mid-2000s, as the construction of the northern section resumed during 2006 with preparatory work, the final appeals against construction were rejected on February 26, 2007 by the Supreme Administrative Court

Supreme Administrative Court of Sweden

The Supreme Administrative Court of Sweden is the supreme court and the third and final tier for administrative court cases in Sweden, and is located in Stockholm...

, and actual construction of the road resumed on May 11, 2007. A new feasibility study

Feasibility study

Feasibility studies aim to objectively and rationally uncover the strengths and weaknesses of the existing business or proposed venture, opportunities and threats as presented by the environment, the resources required to carry through, and ultimately the prospects for success. In its simplest...

 has been conducted on the eastern section, which is awaiting feedback from the County Administrative Board

County Administrative Boards of Sweden

A County Administrative Board is a Government appointed board of a County in Sweden. It is led by a Governor or Landshövding appointed for a term of six years and the list of succession, in most cases, stretches back to 1634 when the counties were created...

 of Stockholm.

Road sections

There are four distinct sections of the planned ring road around Stockholm, of which two are completed, one in construction, and one under consideration.

• Essingeleden
  Essingeleden
  Essingeleden is a motorway that goes from Solna to Stockholm, Sweden, crossing the westmost parts of central Stockholm, by going over Kungsholmen, Lilla Essingen, and Stora Essingen....
  
  , the western section — completion of various stages between 1966 and 1971.
• Södra länken
  Södra länken
  Södra länken , National road 75 , is a motorway in Sweden connecting Essingeleden , Stockholm with Värmdöleden , Nacka. Södra länken is 6 km in length, of which 4.7 km is in tunnels. This makes it the second longest urban motorway tunnel in Europe after Madrid M30 orbital motorway...
  
  , the southern section — short section opened 1973, inauguration of the completed road 2004
• Norra länken
  Norra länken
  Norra länken is a motorway in Stockholm, Sweden, between Norrtull and Karlberg, where it connects to Essingeleden. The road is part of European route E4 and E20 and the incomplete Stockholm ring road....
  
  , the northern section — short section opened in 1991, construction of the rest halted in 1997, construction resumed 2006–2007, and the complete road is finished at earliest 2015.
• Österleden
  Österleden, Stockholm
  Österleden is a planned motorway in Stockholm, Sweden. The road is intended to on the east side of the Stockholm City Centre bind together the Norra länken and Södra länken motorways to create a completed Stockholm ring road....
  
  , the eastern section — planning cancelled in 1997, new feasibility study completed in 2006. Estimates for construction start in 2020 and completion in 2030.