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Planned route of A18 motorway
Planned route of A18 motorway, in relation to other motorways
The A18 highway in Poland is a short (75 km) motorway which, when completed, will run from the Polish/German border at Olszyna/Bademeusel (connecting to the German A15 autobahn) to the junction with the Polish A4 motorway. The highway will be a part of the European route E36.
The motorway had its beginning as a single-carriegeway Reichsautobahn built by Germany in the 1930s. This route had all the features of a full autobahn built according to the standards of the time, except that only a single carriageway was actually constructed, and space was left for constructing the second carriegeway at a later time. The road existed in this state until the early 1990s when the first 7 km were upgraded to modern standards. At present, construction is ongoing to convert the whole stretch to modern standards, which will be achieved by 2009. As of September, 2006, the missing northern carriageway has been added on the whole length, and most of the overpasses and bridges have been completely reconstructed. After traffic is shifted to the northern carriageway when it is fully opened, some time in late 2006, the southern carriageway will be demolished and built anew.
