Diaľnica

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Diaľnica is the Slovak word for a motorway/freeway. It is derived from the Czech word dálnice and it is used only in Slovakia. Motorways are mostly used on international highways. The German equivalent is the Autobahn, the Italian one the autostrada.

Some of the distinguishing features from the ordinary roads:

Must be at least 26,5 metres wide (in case of steep terrain 24,5 m), with 2 lanes in each direction
Direction must be separated from each other by median of land or protective fence
There must be an emergency lane on the right side with SOS phone booths
There must be always an interchange with access on the right lane

Maximum allowed speed is 130 km/h, but this can be lowered variously in case of bad weather, construction works and in case the motorway is in urban area or tunnel, speed is lowered to 80 km/h. Construction on Slovakian motorways started in late 1960s and 1970s around Bratislava, and in the northern Slovakia. Today, motorways are mostly in western Slovakia, with some parts in north and east. Although they are now signed on a red plate with a number in the background, mostly there are only European roads marked.

[edit] Expressways

Another type is an expressway (Slovak for: cesta pre motorové vozidlá or rýchlostná cesta). It is quite similar to the motorway, although it can be bit narrower (24,5 m or 22,5 m), curves can be bit sharper, and allows level crossings, but there are very few of them. Speed limits are mostly similar to the speeds on motorways. Mostly, expressways are connecting regions, although many of them are also lying on E-roads. Nearly all expressways except R1 and some short segments, are built and are mostly going to be built in half-profile which is 11,5 m wide. Today, expressways are mostly in western and central Slovakia, and around Košice. They have no special signing, they have an E-road signing or a national road number.

[edit] List of the current motorways and expressways

This is the list of current motorways:

D1: Main Slovakian motorway, Bratislava - Trnava - Žilina - Prešov - Košice - Ukrainian border.
D2: Western Slovakia motorway, Czech border - Bratislava - Hungarian border.
D3: Northern Slovakia motorway, Žilina - Polish border.
D4: Bratislava outer bypass motorway

Total length: 659 km
In operation: 331 km
Under construction: 78 km

This is the list of current expressways: