Roads in Azerbaijan
Roads in Azerbaijan are the main transport network in Azerbaijan. With the railway network still undergoing modernization and not covering the entire country, especially mountainous areas and other areas with difficult topography, the road system is the most important form of transport in the country. Its role is important both with national, and as an important transit country, with international traffic.
Overview
The total length of the Azerbaijani road network is about 29,000 km, serving domestic cargo traffic and giving access to international main highways. The first modern paved roads, appeared in Azerbaijan in the 19th century when it was part of the Russian Empire. Highways are mostly in fair condition and need an upgrade to international standards in a view to accommodate growing transit traffic. Main and rural roads are in poor condition and in urgent need of rehabilitation and maintenance. The road network, from rural roads to motorways, is today undergoing a rapid modernization with rehabilitations and extensions. For every 1000 km² of national territory, there are 334 km of roads.
According to Global Competitiveness Index 2017-2018 report, Azerbaijan ranks 36th out of 137 countries for the quality (condition and extensiveness) of its road infrastructure.[1]
Highways of Republican Importance
The first and most important class of highways in Azerbaijan, are highways of International importance. These highways are designated with the letter M.[2]
Azerbaijan has recently developed a network of multilane motorways, which are steadily being expanded. Some of the highways of international importance are built to a motorway standard. Especially around Baku, some of these roads are built to controlled-access highway standards. The majority of these motorways consists of six-lane motorways, while some routes in and around Baku consist of six to eight-lane motorways.
| Sign | Number | Route | Length | International numbers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
M1 | Baku - Abşeron - Sumqayıt - Xızı - Siyəzən - Şabran - Quba - Qusar - Xaçmaz - Russia | 203 km | 
|
 |
M2 | Baku - Tovuz - Georgia | 507 km | 
|
 |
M3 | Ələt - Salyan - Lənkəran - Astara - Iran (Astara) | 211 km |
|
 |
M4 | Baku - Şamaxı - Ağsu - Göyçay - Ağdaş | 253 km | |
 |
M5 | Yevlax - Şəki - Zaqatala - Balakən | 184 km | |
 |
M6 | Hajiqabul - Şirvan - Bəhramtəpə - Horadiz - Zəngilan - Armenia (closed) | 290 km | 
|
 |
M7 | Nakhchivan - Babək - Kəngərli - Şərur - Sədərək - Turkey | 81 km |
|
 |
M8 | Culfa - Ordubad - Armenia (closed) | 89 km |
|
| Reference: [2] | ||||
Highways of Regional Importance
These roads are a level below M level roads, and connect main highways to communities across the country. These highways are designated with the letter R. There are 65 such numbered highways in Azerbaijan.
Highway of Local Importance
These roads are a level below R level roads, and connect main and regional highways to communities across the country. The letter by which these roads are numbered is "Y", standing for Yerli, meaning local. The road nubmers follow the following format Y-##-##. The first two digits follow the same digits allocated to each District for license plates. The second pair of digits are assigned from 01 upwards in each District. Cities of Republican significance do not have their individual codes, as there are no local roads, only republican, regional, and municipal.[3]
See also
References
- ^ "Quality of roads". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
- ^ a b c "Azərbaycan Respublikasının respublika əhəmiyyətli avtomobil yollarının siyahısının təsdiq edilməsi haqqında - On approval of the list of roads of republican significance of the Republic of Azerbaijan".
- ^ "Yerli əhəmiyyətli avtomobil yollarının siyahısı - On approval of the list of roads of republican significance of the Republic of Azerbaijan".
This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook. CIA.
