A50 motorway (Netherlands)

Template:Infobox road/shieldmain/NLD Template:Infobox road/name/NLD
Route information
Part of
Maintained by Rijkswaterstaat
Major junctions
South end	in Eindhoven
Major intersections	near Oss near Wijchen near Beuningen near Elst in Arnhem in Apeldoorn
North end	in Hattem
Location
Country	Kingdom of the Netherlands
Constituent country	Netherlands
Provinces	North Brabant, Gelderland
Highway system
Roads in the Netherlands Motorways E-roads Provincial City routes
← →

A50, the section of Rijksweg 50 that is constructed as controlled-access highway, is a north–south motorway in the Netherlands, running from Eindhoven in the province of North Brabant, northwards passing by the cities of Oss, Nijmegen, Arnhem and Apeldoorn, to its northern terminus in the province of Gelderland near the city of Zwolle.

The highway is maintained by Rijkswaterstaat.

Route description

It passes the cities of Eindhoven, Oss, Nijmegen, Arnhem, Apeldoorn and Zwolle.

History

During the Second World War the Highway was known as Highway 69. Since 1969, it is known as N69 and has that name now only between the border of North Brabant and European route E34.

The highway was an important and only avenue of advance during Operation Market Garden, and after the fighting along its length between Allied and Wehrmacht forces it was named "Hell's Highway" so named because of the effective artillery fire directed at it by the German forces in the area. During the fighting some 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) of the highway south of Eindhoven was jammed with wrecks of vehicles being attacked by up to 200 Luftwaffe bombers requiring bulldozers and blade-equipped tanks to roam the length, pushing them off the surface to keep traffic moving. The wrecks on the soft shoulders of the highway prevented its use by other vehicles, in effect converting the highway into a narrow corridor, and slowing the movement on it to a crawl for the Allied drivers.

Exit list

Province	Municipality	km	mi	Exit	Destinations	Notes
North Brabant	Eindhoven	0.000	0.000	—
				6	Ekkersrijt
	Son en Beugel			7	John F. Kennedylaan
				8
				Sonse Heide rest area Southbound exit and entrance
	Sint-Oedenrode			9
	Veghel			10
Zuid-Willemsvaart				Julian J. Ewellbrug
North Brabant	Veghel			11
				12	Driehuizen / Udenseweg
	Uden			13
				14	Rondweg / Looweg
	Bernheze			15
				16
	Oss			—
				Ganzenven rest area southbound De Gagel rest area northbound
				17
Meuse				Maasbrug Ravenstein
Gelderland	Wijchen			—
	Beuningen			—		Southern end of E 31 concurrency
Waal				Tracitusbrug
Gelderland	Overbetuwe			—		Northern end of E 31 concurrency
				Weerbroek rest area southbound Meilanden rest area northbound
				18
Nederrijn				Rijnbrug Heteren
Gelderland	Renkum			19
	Arnhem			De Slenk rest area Northbound exit and entrance
					—		Western end of A12 / E 35 concurrency
					De Schaars rest area Westbound exit and entrance
					—		Eastern end of A12 / E 35 concurrency
					20
					21
					North and southbound rest area Transit buses and vehicle breakdown only
	Apeldoorn			North and southbound rest area Transit buses and vehicle breakdown only
					North and southbound rest area Transit buses and vehicle breakdown only
					22
					23
					De Brink rest area southbound De Somp rest area northbound
					—
					24
					25	Oost Veluweweg
	Epe			26
				27
	Heerde			28
				Het Veen rest area southbound Kolthoorn rest area northbound
				29	Kamperweg
	Hattem			30	Hessenweg / Keizersweg
				—
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       HOV only       Incomplete access

See also

• List of motorways in the Netherlands
• List of E-roads in the Netherlands

References

Works cited

• Koskimaki, George E., Hell's highway: chronicle of the 101st Airborne Division in the Holland Campaign, September - November 1944, Casemate, Havertown, 2003
• Ambrose, Stephen E., Citizen Soldiers: The U. S. Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany, Part One, Chapter 4, Touchstone, New York, 1997