The closest way to Stockholm from Gothenburg is to not follow the road signs. Avoiding the E20, and instead driving via Borås to Jönköping at R40 and the E4 provides a shorter, faster and safer drive to the nation's capital.
This is common knowledge among west coast locals, writes GP, but as a tourist it is natural to follow the road signs to Stockholm. One of them is Susanne Frobe, she tells GP:
- It was extremely slow. You have to slow down at several places, there are many small towns that you pass by. It makes the drive disjointed and stressful, and many people drive like they're in a rush.
Road descriptions online all advise taking the R40 and E40, and GPS systems also pick the same route. At Viamichelin.com, it says that on the route R40/E4,413 of the 473 kilometers are on the highway. On the E20, only 254 kilometers of the 480 are on the highway.
- If it really is the most appropriate road, we must adjust it, says Elenor Persson, national coordinator at Trafikverket (the Swedish Transport Administration).
But it's not a simple task, says Elenor Persson. There are many actors that would have a say in the process, including the Swedish Transport Agency and several municipalities, as new signs are associated with significant costs for the individual municipalities.
