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Planned route of A18 motorway
Planned route of A18 motorway, in relation to other motorways
The A18 highway in Poland is a short (75 km) motorway which, when completed, will run from the Polish/German border at Olszyna/Bademeusel (connecting to the German A15 autobahn) to the junction with the Polish A4 motorway. The highway will be a part of the European route E36.
The motorway had its beginning as a single-carriegeway Reichsautobahn built by Germany in the 1930s. This route had all the features of a full autobahn built according to the standards of the time, except that only a single carriageway was actually constructed, and space was left for constructing the second carriegeway at a later time. The road existed in this state until the early 1990s when the first 7 km were upgraded to modern standards. At present, the whole stretch is in the process of being upgraded to modern standards, which will be achieved by 2009. In late 2006 the missing northern carriageway has been completed on the whole length, and most of the overpasses and bridges have been completely reconstructed. Thus at present the road has two carriageways in use, but the old one is in very bad shape. In 2007 all traffic will be shifted to the northern carriageway, and then the southern carriageway will be demolished and built anew.
