Bundesautobahn 81

A81
Bundesautobahn 81
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Route information
Length	283 km (176 mi)
Major junctions
North end	A 3 in Würzburg
South end	in Gottmadingen
Location
States	Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg
Highway system
Roads in Germany Autobahns List Federal List State E-roads ← A 73 → A 92

Bundesautobahn 81 (translates from German as 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-metre-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-metre-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-metre-long (3,000 ft) bridge near Horb that spans 125 m above the Neckar river. Currently, the A 81 ends near Singen.

Exit list[]

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

External links[]

• Bundesautobahn 81 – detailed route plan (in German)