The Austrian autobahns (German: Autobahnen) are controlled-access highways in Austria. They are officially called Bundesstraßen A according to the Austrian federal road act (Bundesstraßengesetz). The Austrian Autobahn network has a total length of 1,699 km (1,056 mi) as of 2007.
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Like in Germany, ideas to build up a limited-access road network with grade separated interchanges had been developed already in the 1920s, including a "Nibelungen" highway along the Danube river from Passau to Vienna and further on towards Budapest. Those plans however had never been carried out due to the lasting economic crisis that hit the country after the dissolution of Austria-Hungary in 1918, exacerbated by the Great Depression.
The first autobahn in Austria was the West Autobahn from Salzburg to Vienna. Building started immediately after the Austrian Anschluss in 1938 on order of Adolf Hitler as extension of the German Reichsautobahn Strecke 26 from Munich (the present-day Bundesautobahn 8). However, only 16.8 km (10.4 mi) including the branch-off of the planned Tauern Autobahn had been finished on 13 September 1941.[1] Construction works discontinued the next year due to World War II. After the war delaying resistance by the Soviet occupation forces as well as claims raised by West Germany to the former Reichsautobahn assets obstructed the resumption until 1954.
Construction started in the US-occupied zone of Salzburg and Upper Austria, partly relying on the pre-war planning, and were extended after the country gained full sovereignty by the 1955 Austrian State Treaty. The first section of the West Autobahn up to Mondsee was opened in 1958, by 1967 the route between Salzburg and Vienna was completed. From 1959 onwards the Süd Autobahn was built to reach the southern state capitals of Graz and Klagenfurt from Vienna. The construction of the Tauern Autobahn was not resumed until 1969. The Inn Valley Autobahn in the western state of Tyrol was built from 1968 onwards, up to today it is not directly connected to the main Austrian autobahn network, as via motorway drivers have to use the German autobahns BAB 8 and 93 along the Deutsches Eck link.
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, 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 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Autobahn | Vienna Auhof – Sankt Pölten – Linz – Salzburg – Walserberg border crossing (German Bundesautobahn 8) | 292 km (181 mi) | open | |
| Süd Autobahn | Vienna Inzersdorf interchange (A23) – Wiener Neustadt – Graz – Klagenfurt – Thörl-Maglern border crossing (Italian Autostrada 23) | 377 km (234 mi) | open | |
| Südost Autobahn | Guntramsdorf interchange (A2) – Eisenstadt interchange (S31) | 38 km (24 mi) | open; Eisenstadt – Klingenbach border crossing (Hungarian M85 motorway): planned | |
| Ost Autobahn | Vienna Erdberg – Schwechat – Nickelsdorf border crossing (Hungarian M1 motorway) | 66 km (41 mi) | open | |
| Nord Autobahn | Eibesbrunn interchange (S1) – Wolkersdorf – Schrick | 24 km (15 mi) | open; Schrick – Drasenhofen border crossing (Czech R52 expressway): planned | |
| Nordost Autobahn | Bruckneudorf interchange – Kittsee border crossing (Slovakian D4 motorway) | 22 km (14 mi) | open | |
| Mühlkreis Autobahn | Linz interchange (A1) – Unterweitersdorf (connection Mühlviertler Schnellstraße (S10) to Czech R3 expressway under construction) | 29 km (18 mi) | open | |
| Innkreis Autobahn | Voralpenkreuz interchange (A1, A9) – Wels – Suben border crossing (German Bundesautobahn 3) | 76 km (47 mi) | open | |
| Pyhrn Autobahn | Voralpenkreuz interchange (A1, A8) – Graz – Spielfeld border crossing (Slovenian A1 motorway) | 230 km (140 mi) | open; some two-way tunnels | |
| Tauern Autobahn | Salzburg interchange (A1) – Villach interchange (A2, A11) | 194 km (121 mi) | open | |
| Karawanken Autobahn | Villach interchange (A2, A10) – Karawanken Tunnel border crossing (Slovenian A2 motorway) | 21 km (13 mi) | open; one two-way tunnel | |
| Inntal Autobahn | Kufstein border crossing (German Bundesautobahn 93) – Innsbruck – Zams (Arlberg Schnellstraße (S16)) | 145 km (90 mi) | open | |
| Brenner Autobahn | Innsbruck interchange (A12) – Brenner Pass border crossing (Italian Autostrada 22) | 35 km (22 mi) | open | |
| Rheintal/Walgau Autobahn | Hörbranz border crossing (German Bundesautobahn 96) – Bregenz – Feldkirch – Bludenz-Montafon (Arlberg Schnellstraße (S16)) | 61 km (38 mi) | open; one two-way tunnel | |
| Wiener Außenring Autobahn | Steinhäusl interchange (A1) – Alland – Vösendorf interchange (A2, S1) | 38 km (24 mi) | open | |
| Donauufer Autobahn | Vienna Kaisermühlen interchange (A23) – Korneuburg – Stockerau interchange (S3, S5) | 34 km (21 mi) | open; Kaisermühlen – Kaiserebersdorf interchange (A4): proposed | |
| Autobahn Südosttangente Wien | Vienna Altmannsdorf – Vienna Hirschstetten | 18 km (11 mi) | open; Hirschstetten – Raasdorf interchange (S1): planned | |
| Verbindungsspange Rothneusiedl |
Vienna Hanssonkurve interchange (A23) – Vienna Rothneusiedl interchange (S1) | 0 km | plans rejected | |
| Welser Autobahn | Haid interchange (A1)– Wels interchange (A8) | 20 km (12 mi) | open | |
| Linzer Autobahn | Hummelhof interchange (A7) – Urfahr interchange (A7) | 0 km | planned | |
| Total length | 1,720 km (1,070 mi) | |||
Since 1997, the use of all autobahns requires the purchase of a vignette (toll sticker) for passenger cars up to 3.5 tonnes or a GO-Box (electronic toll system) for trucks and buses. On routes which are more costly to maintain, mostly Alpine routes with tunnels —sections of the Pyhrn Autobahn, the Tauern Autobahn (Tauern Tunnel) and the Karawanken Autobahn (Karawanken Tunnel), as well as the Brenner Autobahn— an additional toll (Maut) is required which is collected at time of use via toll plazas.
Vignettes (coll. Pickerl) are available in varying lengths of validity (10 days, 2 months or a year). A vignette valid for a year currently (2011) costs 76.50 EUR for cars and 30.50 EUR for motorcycles. Since 2004 trucks must carry the GO-Box, a little white box which counts the length of the Autobahn used by way of electrical control points, queried by overhead DSRC microwave radio transceivers at different locations. Overhead 3-D infrared laser scanners are used to detect and photograph trucks travelling without it.
Unlike German autobahns, on Austrian autobahns a general speed limit of 130 km/h (81 mph) is set. They may only be used by powered vehicles that are designed to achieve at least 60 km/h (37 mph). While on the motorway voluntary stops, U-turns and backward driving are prohibited.
The Schnellstraßen (Bundesstraßen S) limited-access highway system has a total length of 462 km (287 mi). To use Schnellstraßen, a vignette or GO-Box is required as well.
Schnellstraßen are very similar to the Autobahnen; the chief difference is that they are more cheaply built with smaller curve radius and fewer bridges and tunnels. As they fit better with the mountainous topography of Austria, they often serve as an Autobahn substitute. For example, the main link between the Austria's westernmost state of Vorarlberg and adjacent Tyrol is entirely provided by the S16 Arlberg Schnellstraße, including the Arlberg Road Tunnel completed in 1979.
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