is an

autobahn The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. ...

in northwestern Germany. Construction of a first, section started 2002 and was opened on 23 October 2008.

Opened section

The first section between

Stade Stade (), officially the Hanseatic City of Stade (german: Hansestadt Stade, nds, Hansestadt Stood) is a city in Lower Saxony in northern Germany. First mentioned in records in 934, it is the seat of the district () which bears its name. It is ...

and

Horneburg Horneburg is a municipality southwest of Hamburg (Germany) in the district of Stade in Lower Saxony. Horneburg is also the seat of the ''Samtgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Horneburg. History Horneburg belonged to the Prince-Archbishopri ...

started construction in 2002. It was opened gradually between 5 August and 23 October 2008. Part of the second section connecting Horneburg with

Jork Jork is a small town on the left bank of the Elbe, near Hamburg (Germany). Jork belongs to the district of Stade, in Lower Saxony. The town is the capital of the Altes Land, one of the biggest fruit growing areas in Europe, and Jork is home to a ...

was finished mid 2014 but open only to west bound motor bikes and passenger cars since 28 November 2014 and east bound since 17 July 2015.

Construction

The remaining stretch of the second section is under construction and will further connect Jork with

Buxtehude Buxtehude (), officially the Hanseatic City of Buxtehude (german: Hansestadt Buxtehude, nds, Hansestadt Buxthu ()), is a town on the Este River in Northern Germany, belonging to the district of Stade in Lower Saxony. It is part of the Hamburg ...

and cross the river Este. It is planned to open with the third section. The third section will connect Buxtehude with

Neu Wulmstorf ( nds, Vosshusen) is a municipality ('Einheitsgemeinde') in the district of Harburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It changed its name on December 11, 1964 from ″Wulmstorf″ to ″Neu Wulmstorf″. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. ...

/ Rübke. First construction started 5 September 2013. It Section four connecting A26 to A7 on

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

territory at a new interlink 'Hamburg-Süderelbe' started 2019 and

Planning phase

A fifth section is planned to connect Stade with

Drochtersen Drochtersen is a municipality in the district Stade, in Lower Saxony (Germany). It is located 45 km Northwest of Hamburg. It belonged to the Archdiocese of Bremen, Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen. In 1648 the Prince-Archbishopric was transform ...

and the planned extension of the A20 across the river

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Re ...

. The so-called 'Hafenpassage' is planned as an east–west connection south of the Elbe between A7, A253 and A1. It will involve a new bridge to replace the aging

Köhlbrand Bridge The Köhlbrand Bridge (german: Köhlbrandbrücke) is a cable-stayed bridge in Hamburg, Germany,Stahl, F. L., & Gagnon, C. P. (1996)Cable Corrosion in Bridges and Other Structures: Causes and SolutionsASCE Publications. . Retrieved on 16 March 20 ...

Opened section

Construction

Planning phase

Exit list

References

External links