Bundesautobahn 81

Federal Motorway 81
Bundesautobahn 81 (German)
Route information
Length	283 km (176 mi)
Major junctions
North end	A 3 in Würzburg
South end	B 34 in Gottmadingen
Location
Country	Germany
States	Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg
Highway system
Roads in Germany Autobahns List Federal List State E-roads
← A 73 → A 82

Bundesautobahn 81 (German for 'Federal Motorway 81', short form Autobahn 81, abbreviated as BAB 81 or A 81) is a motorway in Germany. It branches off the A 3 at the Würzburg-West triangle and ends near the border with Switzerland.

The oldest part of the A 81 between the Weinsberg intersection (A 6) near Heilbronn and Dreieck Leonberg (A 8) near Stuttgart was finished in the years 1938 to 1940. This section included the first tunnel built for an autobahn, the 300-meter-long (980 ft) first Engelberg tunnel near Leonberg. When Weinsberg-Leonberg was upgraded to 3+3 lanes in the 1970s, the tunnel with its two lanes each and steep grades (up to 6%) became something of a bottleneck. In 1999 a new 2,530-meter-long (8,300 ft) Engelberg tunnel was opened.

Gärtringen: One of the few German autobahn exits to the left

Original plans called for the A 81 to be continued northwards skirting the north-west of Würzburg to join up with the A 7, but these plans were later abandoned. Instead, the A 81 shares a part of the A 8 to the Stuttgart intersection and then continues south on a motorway that was built as A 831 to Gärtringen, where it meets the original line again at a partly finished intersection. As a result of this change of plans, Gärtringen became one of the few exits in the German autobahn network that leave to the left.

Further south, the terrain required some spectacular engineering, including a 900-meter-long (3,000 ft) bridge near Horb that spans 125 m above the Neckar river. Currently, the A 81 ends near Singen.

Exit list

State	District	Location	km	mi	Destinations	Notes
		1	Würzburg-West A 3	E 41 E 43
		2	Gerchsheim
		Spitalwald Rest area
		Gerchsheimer Grund Rest area
		Kleinraststätte ob der Tauber Rest area
		Rötensteinbrücke 387 m
		Rest area
		3	Tauberbischofsheim B 27 B 290
		Taubertalbrücke 661 m
		Steinbacher Höhe Rest area
		Muckbachtalbrücke 330 m
		Löchle Rest area
		Schüpfbachtalbrücke 280 m
		4	Ahorn
		Brombach Rest area
		Brücke über die Frankenbahn 50 m
		Rest area
		Lindich Rest area
		5	Boxberg B 292
		Holzspitze Rest area
		Seegrund Rest area
		6	Osterburken B 292 B 293
		Denzer Rest area
		Großer Wald Rest area
		Kleinrastätte Jagsttal Rest area
		Jagsttalbrücke 889 m
		7	Möckmühl
		Egerten Rest area
		Kochertalbrücke 478 m
		Straßebrücke 50 m
		8	Neuenstadt
		Brettachtalbrücke 386 m
		Sulzrain Rest area
		Hölzerntunnel 470 m Tunnel
		Eberbachtalbrücke 310 m
		Eberbachtal Rest area
		9	Weinsberg A 6	E 50
		Bahnstrecke Crailsheim-Heilbronn 60 m
		10	Weinsberg / Ellhofen B 39a
		Reisberg Rest area
		Grafenwald Rest area
		11	Heibronn / Untergruppenbach
		12	Ilsfeld
		Wunnenstein Rest area
		13	Mundelsheim
		Kälbling Rest area
		14	Pleidelsheim
		Neckartalbrücke 410 m
		15	Ludwigsburg-Nord B 27
		Brücke über Frankenbahn 60 m
		16	Ludwigsburg-Süd
		17	Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen B 10
		Brücke über Schwarzaldbahn 70 m
		18	Stuttgart-Feuerbach B 295
		Beutenbachtalbrücke 150 m
		Engelberg/Gerlinger Höhe Rest area
		Engelbergtunnel 2530 m Tunnel
		19	Dreieck Leonberg A 8	E 52
A 8 A 81
			Leonberg-Ost
		Friedensbrücke 320 m
		Sindelfinger Wald Rest area
		Sommerhofen Rest area
A 8 A 81
		20	Stuttgart A 8	E 52 A 831
		21	Sindelfingen-Ost
		Straßenbrücke 60 m
		22	Böblingen-Ost
		Straßenbrücke 50 m
		Lärmschutzdeckel 850 m (under construction until 2026 at least) Tunnel
		23	Böblingen/Sindelfingen
		24	Böblingen-Hulb B 464
		25	Ehningen B 14
		Würmtalbrücke 242 m
		26	Hildrizhausen
		27	Gärtringen B 14
		Schönbuch Rest area
		Schönbuchtunnel 606 m Tunnel
		28	Herrenberg B 28
		Ammertalbahn 50 m
		Kochhartgrabenbrücke 252 m
		Ziegler/Geyern Rest area
		29	Rottenburg B 28a
		Neckarblick/Hirtenhaus Rest area
		Neckartalbrücke (Weitingen) 918 m
		30	Horb am Neckar B 32
		Talbrücke 90 m
		Rest area
		31	Empfingen B 463
		Mühlbachtalviadukt 582 m
		Rest area
		32	Sulz am Neckar
		Hasenrain Rest area
		33	Oberndorf am Neckar
		Trichtenbachtalbrücke 140 m
		Talbrücke 130 m
		Rest area
		Rest area
		Schlichemtalbrücke 240 m
		Neckarburg Rest area
		Neckarburgbrücke 365 m
		34	Rottweil B 462
		Eschachtal Rest area
		Eschachtalbrücke 443 m
		Neckartalbrücke 206 m
		Bahnstrecke Rottweil-Villingen 50 m
		35	Villingen-Schwenningen B 27
		Rest area
		36	Tuningen B 523
		Rest area
		37	Bad Dürrheim A 864	E 531
		Räthisgraben Rest area
		Unterhölzer Wald Rest area
		Donautalbrücke 318 m
		38	Geisingen B 31 B 33 B 311
		Ziegelbuckbrücke 196 m
		Rest area
		Immensitzbrücke 227 m
		Rest area
		Talbachbrücke 484 m
		Im Hegau Rest area
		Brudertalbrücke 337 m
		39	Engen B 31 B 491
		Bruckried/Klauseneck Rest area
		40	Hegau A 98	E 54 B 33
		41	Singen (Hohentwiel) B 33
		Saubachbrücke 391 m
		Talbrücke 70 m
		Hohentwieltunnel 833 m Tunnel
		42	Hilzingen B 314
		Riederbachtalbrücke 216 m
		Heilsbergtunnel 483 m Tunnel
		Brücke über Hochrheinbahn 70 m
		43	Gottmadingen B 34 E 41 E 54

External links

• Bundesautobahn 81 – detailed route plan (in German)