Autobahn System
Austria currently has 18 autobahns, since 1982 built and maintained by the self-financed ASFiNAG stock company in Vienna, which is wholly owned by the Austrian republic and earns revenue from road-user charges and tolls. Each route bears a number as well as an official name with local reference, which however is not displayed on road signs. Unusually for European countries, interchanges (between motorways called Knoten, "knots") are numbered by distance in kilometres starting from where the route begins; this arrangement is also used in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Spain, and most provinces of Canada (and in most American states, albeit in miles).
The system is going to be expanded; one Autobahn is currently under construction, and one more is planned. In spite of Austria's relatively low population density, the motorway density per capita is the highest in Europe, due to the state's location in the centre of the continent. The transit traffic across the main chain of the Alps especially by trucks had led to a considerable environmental load to the fragile Alpine ecosystem. Several action groups urge the transfer of freight transport from road to rail. In 1991 Austria signed the Alpine Convention on the protection of the natural environment.
| Number | Name | Route | Length (km) | Length (mi) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | West Autobahn | Vienna Auhof – Sankt Pölten – Linz – Salzburg – Walserberg border crossing (German Bundesautobahn 8) | 292 | 181 | Open |
| A2 | Süd Autobahn | Vienna Inzersdorf interchange (A23) – Wiener Neustadt – Graz – Klagenfurt – Thörl-Maglern border crossing (Italian Autostrada 23) | 377 | 234 | Open |
| A3 | Südost Autobahn | Guntramsdorf interchange (A2) – Eisenstadt interchange (S31) | 38 | 24 | open; Eisenstadt – Klingenbach border crossing (Hungarian M85 motorway): planned |
| A4 | Ost Autobahn | Vienna Erdberg – Schwechat – Nickelsdorf border crossing (Hungarian M1 motorway) | 66 | 41 | Open |
| A5 | Nord Autobahn | Eibesbrunn interchange (S1) – Wolkersdorf – Schrick | 24 | 15 | Open; Schrick – Drasenhofen border crossing (Czech R52 expressway): planned |
| A6 | Nordost Autobahn | Bruckneudorf interchange – Kittsee border crossing (Slovakian D4 motorway) | 22 | 14 | Open |
| A7 | Mühlkreis Autobahn | Linz interchange (A1) – Unterweitersdorf (connection Mühlviertler Schnellstraße (S10) to Czech R3 expressway under construction) | 29 | 18 | Open |
| A8 | Innkreis Autobahn | Voralpenkreuz interchange (A1, A9) – Wels – Suben border crossing (German Bundesautobahn 3) | 76 | 47 | Open |
| A9 | Pyhrn Autobahn | Voralpenkreuz interchange (A1, A8) – Graz – Spielfeld border crossing (Slovenian A1 motorway) | 230 | 140 | Open; some two-way tunnels |
| A10 | Tauern Autobahn | Salzburg interchange (A1) – Villach interchange (A2, A11) | 194 | 121 | Open |
| A11 | Karawanken Autobahn | Villach interchange (A2, A10) – Karawanken Tunnel border crossing (Slovenian A2 motorway) | 21 | 13 | Open; one two-way tunnel |
| A12 | Inntal Autobahn | Kufstein border crossing (German Bundesautobahn 93) – Innsbruck – Zams (Arlberg Schnellstraße (S16)) | 145 | 90 | Open |
| A13 | Brenner Autobahn | Innsbruck interchange (A12) – Brenner Pass border crossing (Italian Autostrada 22) | 35 | 22 | Open |
| A14 | Rheintal/Walgau Autobahn | Hörbranz border crossing (German Bundesautobahn 96) – Bregenz – Feldkirch – Bludenz-Montafon (Arlberg Schnellstraße (S16)) | 61 | 38 | Open; one two-way tunnel |
| A21 | Wiener Außenring Autobahn | Steinhäusl interchange (A1) – Alland – Vösendorf interchange (A2, S1) | 38 | 24 | Open |
| A22 | Donauufer Autobahn | Vienna Kaisermühlen interchange (A23) – Korneuburg – Stockerau interchange (S3, S5) | 34 | 21 | Open; Kaisermühlen – Kaiserebersdorf interchange (A4): proposed |
| A23 | Autobahn Südosttangente Wien | Vienna Altmannsdorf – Vienna Hirschstetten | 18 | 11 | Open; Hirschstetten – Raasdorf interchange (S1): planned |
| A24 | Verbindungsspange Rothneusiedl |
Vienna Hanssonkurve interchange (A23) – Vienna Rothneusiedl interchange (S1) | 0 | 0 | Plans rejected |
| A25 | Welser Autobahn | Haid interchange (A1)– Wels interchange (A8) | 20 | 12 | Open |
| A26 | Linzer Autobahn | Hummelhof interchange (A7) – Urfahr interchange (A7) | 0 | 0 | Planned |
| Total length | 1,720 | 1,070 | |||
Read more about this topic: Autobahns Of Austria
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