Autobahns of Austria
The Austrian autobahns are controlled-access highways in Austria. They are officially called Bundesstraßen A (Bundesautobahnen) under the authority of the Federal Government according to the Austrian Federal Road Act (Bundesstraßengesetz),[1] not to be confused with the former Bundesstraßen highways maintained by the Austrian states since 2002.
History
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 Donau (Danube) river from Passau to Wien (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 on Austrian territory was the West Autobahn from Salzburg to Vienna. Building started immediately after the Austrian Anschluss in 1938 the annexation of Austria on order of Adolf Hitler as extension of the German Reichsautobahn-Strecke 26 from München (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.[2] 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.
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 Republic of Austria 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. That arrangement is also used in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Spain and most Canadian provinces (and in most American states, albeit in miles). The current Austrian Autobahn network has a total length of 1,720 km (1,070 mi).
The system is going to be expanded; one autobahn is currently under construction, and one more is planned. The transit traffic across the main chain of the Alps, especially by trucks, has 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 | Length (mi) | Length (km) | Southern or western terminus | Northern or eastern terminus | Route name | Formed | Removed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 A 1
|
292 | 181 | Vienna Auhof | Walserberg border crossing (German Bundesautobahn 8) | West Autobahn | — | — | via Sankt Pölten, Linz and Salzburg. |
 A 2
|
377 | 234 | Vienna Inzersdorf interchange (A23) | Thörl-Maglern border crossing (Italian Autostrada 23) | Süd Autobahn | — | — | via Wiener Neustadt, Graz and Klagenfurt. |
 A 3
|
38 | 24 | Guntramsdorf interchange (A2) | Eisenstadt interchange (S31) | Südost Autobahn | — | — | Eisenstadt – Klingenbach border crossing (Hungarian M85 motorway) is planned |
 A 4
|
66 | 41 | Vienna Erdberg | Nickelsdorf border crossing (Hungarian M1 motorway) | Ost Autobahn | — | — | |
 A 5
|
24 | 15 | Eibesbrunn interchange (S1) | Poysdorf | Nord Autobahn | — | — | via Wolkersdorf. Poysdorf – Drasenhofen border crossing (Czech R52 expressway) is planned |
 A 6
|
22 | 14 | Bruckneudorf interchange | Kittsee border crossing (Slovakian D4 motorway) | Nordost Autobahn | — | — | |
 A 7
|
29 | 18 | Linz interchange (A1) | Unterweitersdorf (connection Mühlviertler Schnellstraße (S10) to Czech D3 motorway under construction) | Mühlkreis Autobahn | — | — | |
 A 8
|
76 | 47 | Voralpenkreuz interchange (A1, A9) | Suben border crossing (German Bundesautobahn 3) | Innkreis Autobahn | — | — | via Wels |
 A 9
|
230 | 140 | Voralpenkreuz interchange (A1, A8) | Spielfeld border crossing (Slovenian A1 motorway) | Pyhrn Autobahn | — | — | via Graz; some two-way tunnels |
 A 10
|
193 | 120 | Salzburg interchange (A1) | Villach interchange (A2, A11) | Tauern Autobahn | — | — | |
 A 11
|
21 | 13 | Villach interchange (A2, A10) | Karawanken Tunnel border crossing (Slovenian A2 motorway) | Karawanken Autobahn | — | — | one two-way tunnel |
 A 12
|
153 | 95 | Kufstein border crossing (German Bundesautobahn 93) | Zams (Arlberg Schnellstraße (S16)) | Inn Valley Autobahn | — | — | via Innsbruck |
 A 13
|
35 | 22 | Innsbruck interchange (A12) | Brenner Pass border crossing (Italian Autostrada 22) | Brenner Autobahn | — | — | |
 A 14
|
61 | 38 | Hörbranz border crossing (German Bundesautobahn 96) | Montafon (Arlberg Schnellstraße (S16)) | Rheintal/Walgau Autobahn | — | — | via Bregenz, Feldkirch and Bludenz. |
 A 21
|
38 | 24 | Steinhäusl interchange (A1) | Vösendorf interchange (A2, S1) | Wiener Außenring Autobahn | — | — | via Alland
|
 A 22
|
34 | 21 | Vienna Kaisermühlen interchange (A23) | Stockerau interchange (S3, S5) | Donauufer Autobahn | — | — | via Korneuburg. Kaisermühlen – Kaiserebersdorf interchange (A4) is proposed
|
 A 23
|
18 | 11 | Vienna Altmannsdorf | Vienna Hirschstetten | Südosttangente Wien | — | — | Hirschstetten – Raasdorf interchange (S1) is planned
|
 A 24
|
0 | 0 | Vienna Hanssonkurve interchange (A23) | Vienna Rothneusiedl interchange (S1) | Verbindungsspange / Rothneusiedl | — | — | Plans rejected
|
 A 25
|
20 | 12 | Haid interchange (A1) | Wels interchange (A8) | Welser Autobahn | — | —
| |
 A 26
|
0 | 0 | Hummelhof interchange (A7) | Urfahr interchange (A7) | Linzer Autobahn | proposed | — | |
Traffic laws and enforcement
Unlike German autobahns, on Austrian autobahns a general speed limit of 130 km/h (81 mph) is set, although as of August 25, 2018, the ÖVP-FPÖ coalition government had been going on a trial for a possible speed limit increase to 140 km/h (87 mph) on the Autobahn 1 freeway. The trial ended in 2020 with no changes to speed limit. 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.
Tolls
Since 1997, the use of all Autobahnen and Schnellstraßen 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. The toll fee (Maut) has to be paid to legally access the Austrian Autobahns at any time except the Autobahns listed below. 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—a toll is collected at time of use via toll plazas and therefore drivers do not need to have a vignette to use these Autobahn sections.
Vignettes (coll. Pickerl) are available in varying lengths of validity (10 days, two months, or a year). As of 2016, a vignette valid for a year costs €85.70 for cars and €34.10 for motorcycles.[3] To prove to have paid this fee, the toll stickers have to be put onto the inside of the front windscreen. Once removed, they no longer are valid, so each car on Austrian Autobahns needs its own toll sticker. From 2018, digital vignettes are an alternative to toll stickers. Digital vignette is purchased on the internet and linked to the vehicle's registration plate.
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.
A fine of €110 must be paid if a vehicle is on the motorway without a GO-Box or a vignette, or a fine of €240 if a vignette is not affixed onto the windscreen or in one of the approved places or the vehicle is on the motorway with a vignette that has expired or been tampered with. If the driver refuses to pay the fine, then the fine will increase to between €300 and €3,000.
See also
- Transport in Austria
- List of controlled-access highway systems
- Evolution of motorway construction in European nations
References
- ^ Bundesstraßengesetz 1971 (in German)
- ^ "Beginn des Autobahnbaus in Österreich" (in German) Archived March 8, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "MANDARIN-ORANGE - VIGNETTE COLOR 2016". ASFiNAG. Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
External links
- Autobahnen und Schnellstraßen finanzierungs AG (ASFINAG), Austria's autobahn agency