Bundesstraße 303

Federal Highway 303
Federal Highway 303
Bundesstraße 303 (German)
Route information
Length	210 km (130 mi)
Major junctions
West end	A 7 autobahn west of Schweinfurt
East end	Border with the Czech Republic east of Schirnding
Location
Country	Germany
States	Bavaria
Highway system
	Roads in Germany; Autobahns List; ; Federal List; ; State; E-roads;

The Bundesstraße 303 (abbreviation: B 303) is a German federal highway that runs from west to east, beginning at the A 7 autobahn west of Schweinfurt and ending at the border with the Czech Republic east of Schirnding. It runs through the eastern part of Lower Franconia and the whole of Upper Franconia.

History

B 303 car park at Dietersdorf

The original route of Reichsstraße 303 ran from Schweinfurt via Schonungen, Hofheim in Unterfranken, Coburg, Mitwitz, Kronach and Selbitz to Hof and continued via Rehau and Eger to Mitterteich. In 1941 the section from Hof via Eger to Mitterteich was replaced by Reichsstraße 15 and the section of that from Hundsbach (border) to Mitterteich by the B 299. In the early 1950s the road from Marktrodach via Stadtsteinach, Bad Berneck, Marktredwitz and Arzberg to Schirnding was redefined as the Bundesstraße 303. This section used to be called the Main Valley Road (Maintalstraße).^[1]^[2]

The central section of the B 303 between Schonungen am Main and Tambach near Coburg originally ran through 14 villages. From the 1960s to the 1990s the route was re-routed eastwards in stages over a length of 49.7 km and, as a result, it now only passes through Oberelldorf and Tambach. Since 19 October 2007, the B 303 has crossed over junction 10 of the new A 73 autobahn (Nürnberg – Suhl) near Ebersdorf bei Coburg.

Fichtelgebirge autobahn

There were plans to upgrade the section from Wirsberg to Cheb (Eger) into a four-lane 'yellow autobahn', the so-called 'Fichtelgebirge autobahn' (Fichtelgebirgsautobahn). This was intended to connected to the Czech highway, the D6 motorway, to Prague. However these plans were not put into action due to the expected environmental damage, high construction costs and decreasing traffic volumes since January 2009. Instead the existing B 303 will be selectively widened in places.^[3]

Major intersections

State	Location	km
	98	Wasserlosen A 7
		Sömmersdorf
	30	Schweinfurt-West A 71
		Niederwerrn local diversion
		Schweinfurt B 26 B 286
	9	Schonungen A 70 / E 48
		near Gädheim B 26
		Hofheim local diversion
		near Breitenbach B 279
		Dietersdorf local diversion
		Ahorn local diversion
		Grub B 4 local diversion
	10	Ebersdorf bei Coburg A 73
		Sonnefeld local diversion
		Mitwitz
		Kronach B 85 B 173 local diversion
		Marktrodach B 173
		Stadtsteinach
		Untersteinach B 289 local diversion
		near Ludwigschorgast B 289
		Wirsberg local diversion
		Himmelkron local diversion
	39	Bad Berneck/Himmelkron A 9
		Bad Berneck B 2
		Bischofsgrün local diversion
		Tröstau
		Bad Alexandersbad local diversion
		Marktredwitz local diversion
	13	Marktredwitz-Nord A 93
		Arzberg local diversion
		Schirnding local diversion
	CZ–DE border
continues in the direction of Cheb/Eger