A50 motorway (Netherlands)

A50 motorway
Rijksweg 50
Motorways in the Netherlands with A50 and N50 bolt
Route information
Part of E 31 / E 35
Maintained by Rijkswaterstaat[1]
Major junctions
South end:	E 25 / A2 in Eindhoven
	A59 near Oss A326 near Wijchen E 31 / A73 / N322 near Beuningen E 31 / A15 near Elst A12 in Arnhem E 30 / A1 in Apeldoorn
North end:	E 232 / A28 / N50 in Hattem
Location
Provinces:	North Brabant, Gelderland
Highway system
Roads in the Netherlands Motorways E-roads Provincial City routes ← A44 A58 →

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.^[1]

Route description

It passes the cities of Eindhoven, Den Bosch, 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 now remains so named only between the border of Noord-Brabant province and the E34 Freeway.

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"^[2] so named because of the effective artillery fire directed at it by the German forces in the area.^[3] 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^[4] 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,^[5] in effect converting the highway into a narrow corridor, and slowing the movement on it to a crawl for the Allied drivers.

The fighting along N69 is depicted in a recent computer game Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway.

Exit list

Province	Municipality	km	mi	Exit	Destinations	Notes
North Brabant	Eindhoven	0.000	0.000	—	E 25 / A2 – Best, Eindhoven, Oirschot
				6	Ekkersrijt
	Son en Beugel			7	John F. Kennedylaan
				8	N620 west (Bestseweg) – Best, Son en Beugel
				Sonse Heide rest area Southbound exit and entrance
	Sint-Oedenrode			9	N637 north (Noordelijke randweg) / Eversestraat / Veghelseweg – Sint-Oedenrode, Schijndel
	Veghel			10	N622 west (Eerdsebaan / Bovenrooy) – Veghel, Schijndel
Zuid-Willemsvaart				Julian J. Ewellbrug
North Brabant	Veghel			11	N279 (Rijksweg) – Veghel, Heeswijk-Dinther
				12	Driehuizen / Udenseweg
	Uden			13	N264 east (Lippstadt-singel) – Uden
				14	Rondweg / Looweg
	Bernheze			15	N603 west (Noorderbaan) – Nistelrode, Heesch
				16	N324 east (Rijksweg) / N329 north (Graafsebaan) – Schaijk, Oss
	Oss			—	A59 west – Heesch, Oss, 's-Hertogenbosch
				Ganzenven rest area southbound De Gagel rest area northbound
				17	N277 south / N626 west (Dorpenweg) / Erfsestraat – Ravenstein
Meuse				Maasbrug Ravenstein
Gelderland	Wijchen			—	A326 east – Wijchen
	Beuningen			—	E 31 east / A73 east / N322 west – Beuningen, Deest	Southern end of E 31 concurrency
Waal				Tracitusbrug
Gelderland	Overbetuwe			—	E 31 west / A15 – Andelst, Elst	Northern end of E 31 concurrency
				Weerbroek rest area southbound Meilanden rest area northbound
				18	N837 (Cora Baltussenallee) – Heteren, Driel
Nederrijn				Rijnbrug Heteren
Gelderland	Renkum			19	N225 (Rijksweg) – Renkum, Oosterbeek
	Arnhem			De Slenk rest area Northbound exit and entrance
						—	E 35 / A12 – Ede, Bennekom	Western end of A12 / E 35 concurrency
						De Schaars rest area Westbound exit and entrance
						—	E 35 / A12 – Arnhem, Rozendaal	Eastern end of A12 / E 35 concurrency
						20	N784 (Apeldoornseweg) – Arnhem
						21	N784 south / N311 west – Arnhem
						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	N788 north (Arnhemseweg) – Beekbergen
						23	N786 (Loenenseweg) – Beekbergen, Loenen
						De Brink rest area southbound De Somp rest area northbound
						—	E 30 / A1 – Apeldoorn, Voorst
						24	N345 – Apeldoorn, Voorst
						25	Oost Veluweweg
	Epe			26	N792 east (Geerstraat) / Eekterweg – Vaassen, Terwolde
				27	N309 west – Epe
	Heerde			28	N794 (Eperweg) – Epe, Heerde
				Het Veen rest area southbound Kolthoorn rest area northbound
				29	Kamperweg
	Hattem			30	Hessenweg / Keizersweg
				—	N50 north–west / E 232 / A28 – Kampen, Zwolle, Wezep
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
• Netherlands portal
• Roads portal

References

Footnotes

1. "Wegbeheerders". Rijkswaterstaat. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
2. p.87, Koskimaki
3. p.125, Ambrose
4. p.125, Ambrose
5. p.125, Ambrose

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

External links

Media related to A50 motorway (Netherlands) at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 51°58′12″N 5°46′4″E / 51.97000°N 5.76778°E