Roads in Iceland

[1][2] As late as 1900 Iceland had only a few miles of roading suitable for wheeled transport, mostly located in the southern regions of the island.

[3] Annual expenditure of road-building rose from 23 thousand krónur on average between 1876 and 1893 to 1,859 in 1939, and between 1899 and 1929 a total of 159 bridges of 10 metres in length or longer were constructed.

[6] This network of motorable roads linking Reykjavik to Akureyri was central to the German invasion plan under Operation Ikarus, which relied on motorised troops landed at Reykjavik and Akureyri to advance quickly along it in order to take control of the island in four days.

[7] By 1942 regular bus-services were operating between Reykjavik and Akureyri on the northern coast, with the journey taking two 12-hour days if conducted entirely by bus.

[1] Trying to drive on an F-road with a normal passenger car means a large risk of being stuck outside of phone coverage and is a breach of Icelandic traffic law, for which one can get a fine.