Westautobahn
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| Autobahn A1 | ||||
| West Autobahn | ||||
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Part of  
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| Length: | 292 km (181 mi) | |||
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| From: | Vienna-Hietzing | |||
| To: |
 A 8
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| Major cities: | Vienna, Sankt Pölten, Linz, Salzburg | |||
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The West Autobahn (A1) was the first motorway (Autobahn) to be built in Austria, originating from plans drawn up for the so-called Reichsautobahn system. Completed in 1967, today it runs from the outskirts of Vienna via Linz to Salzburg, where it joins the German Bundesautobahn 8 at the Walserberg border crossing.
The A1 is Austria's main east-west thoroughfare and part of the major European routes E55 and E60.
The construction of the first two sections near Salzburg started a few weeks after the Anschluss annexation of Austria in 1938, as the Nazi authorities had long before set up plans for an eastern continuation of the Reichsautobahn 26 from Munich to Salzburg (the present-day Bundesautobahn 8) towards Linz and Vienna in what was to become the German Ostmark. However, only two sections around Salzburg with a total length of 12.5 km (7.8 mi) were opened to traffic when works discontinued in 1942 due to World War II.
After the war, the interrupted construction works on the third section to Eugendorf were finished, nevertheless, the further continuation could not be resumed under Allied occupation. Between 1947 and 1965 the completed sections northwest of Salzburg were used as a racing track, known as "Little AVUS", the site of an annual motorcycle race, later called Grand Prix of Austria, with racer Helmut Krackowizer among the first winners.
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Wikipedia