Bundesautobahn 3
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|---|---|---|
| Bundesautobahn 3 | ||
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| Route information | ||
| Length | 778 km (483 mi) | |
| Major junctions | ||
| Northwest end | Netherlands near Wesel | |
class="wikitable "
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| Southeast end | Austrian border near Passau | |
| Location | ||
| Country | Germany | |
| States | North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg | |
| Highway system | ||
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Bundesautobahn 3 (translates from German as Federal Motorway 3, short form Autobahn 3, abbreviated as BAB 3 or A 3) is an autobahn in Germany that links the border to the Netherlands near Wesel in the northwest to the Austrian border near Passau in the southeast.
Major cities along its total length of 778 km (483 mi) include Oberhausen, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Leverkusen, Cologne, Wiesbaden, Frankfurt, Würzburg, Nuremberg and Regensburg. The A 3 is a major connection between Rhine-Ruhr area and southern Germany, resulting in heavy traffic. Consequently, large parts have three lanes (plus emergency lane) for each direction, including a 300 km (187.5 mi) long part between Oberhausen and Aschaffenburg.
History
 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (February 2008) |
The A 3 was part of the original Autobahn plans from the 1920s. Construction began between Oberhausen and Wiesbaden in 1936 and was completed in 1940. The border to the Netherlands was reached in 1965 (Holland line), Würzburg in 1963. A short part of the A 3 near Nürnberg has existed since 1941. The parts in Eastern Bavaria were built significantly later, with the last gaps being closed in 1984. The A 3 runs parallel to the Bundesstraße 8, which it thus replaced as a main highway. Both follow the medieval trade route Via Publica that was first mentioned in a document from 839.
Current stage of road condition
Netherlands to Cologne
The A3 is four-laning for the first 65 kilometers (41 mi) up from the Dutch border. There are six lanes, three lanes in each direction, between interchange Kreuz Oberhausen and Kreuz Köln-Dellbrück. On a short part inside of Kreuz Kaiserberg the A3 has two lanes. The Autobahn is equipped with eight lanes on the Cologne Beltway between Köln-Dellbrück and autobahn triangle Dreieck Köln-Heumar.
Cologne to Aschaffenburg
The course until Hösbach near Aschaffenburg has six lanes. The A3 is seven-laning between Mönchhofer Dreieck and Wiesbadener Kreuz (four lanes in the direction of Cologne, three to Würzburg) and eight-laning between Frankfurter Kreuz and Offenbacher Kreuz.
Aschaffenburg to Fürth
The A3 has only four lanes from Aschaffenburg-Ost to the junction with the A 73 Kreuz Fürth/Erlangen in year 2009. The Spessart-slope near Waldaschaff and some slope areas near Würzburg have additional lanes. There are plans to expand this area of the A3 up to six lanes in the next few years.
Fürth to Austria
There are six lanes between Kreuz Fürth/Erlangen and Kreuz Nürnberg while the remaining section towards the Austrian border only has two lanes in each direction.
Special
Between Cologne and Frankfurt an ICE high-speed railway line (300 km/h) closely follows the A 3's route.
Two sections in the Frankfurt area are equipped with a special kind of facility to allow a temporary release of the emergency lanes during the rush hour. The section between Hanau and Offenbacher Kreuz and also the section between Kelsterbach and Mönchhofdreieck have this facility, so that a further lane for each direction can be opened. These sections are monitored by cameras, so that the additional lane can be closed in critical situations, for example in case of a vehicle breakdown.
Some parts of the A3 are among the most busy roads in Germany. According to a survey from 2010, three sections are in the Top 10 of roads with major average traffic each day. Only the Berlin city autobahn A100 had more traffic in 2010.[1]
- 5th place: Kreuz Leverkusen – Leverkusen = 157.600 vehicles
- 6th place: Köln-Dellbrück – Kreuz Köln-Ost = 157.100 vehicles
- 8th place: Frankfurt-Süd – Offenbacher Kreuz = 150.700 vehicles
Plans and construction
- An upgrade to eight lanes is planned with urgent demand near Cologne
- An upgrade to eight lanes is planned with urgent demand near Frankfurt
- The upgrade to six lanes from Aschaffenburg to Schlüsselfeld is also planned with urgent demand
- The section between Aschaffenburg-Ost and Kauppenbrücke near Waldaschaff (7,8 km / 4,9 mi) is under construction since September 2008 to November 2011.
- The section between Dreieck Würzburg-West and Würzburg-Heidingsfeld (8,0 km / 5 mi) is under construction since 2007 to autumn 2010.
- The upgrade to six lanes from Schlüsselfeld to Fürth/Erlangen is planned with further demand
- An upgrade to six lanes near Regensburg is planned with further demand
References
External links
Geographic data related to Bundesautobahn 3 at OpenStreetMap- Bundesautobahn 3 – detailed route plan (in German)
