Silvervägen, or the Silver Road, was inaugurated in 1975 when Harald V of Norway and Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden met at the border where a large stone block had been erected. The project had been a dream for many for nearly a hundred years. It is the only Swedish national road across the barren mountain plateau (kalfjäll), reaching up to 740 meters above sea level at its highest point.
On the Norwegian side, however, the road is more commonly referred to as E6, part of European Route 6. After Fauske, heading towards Bodø, it becomes E80. Another name for the road segment after the Kjernfjelltunnel to Rognan and Bodø is Blodsvägen, or Blood Road. During the 1940s, the German occupation forces used prisoners in its construction. In light of this history, some voices have argued that Silvervägen could also be seen as a kind of Blood Road, considering how the Swedish state utilized the Sami people in transportation and how young men from the coast, especially during the wars of the 1600s, were forced to work in the silver mines.