Bundesautobahn 45 (translates from German as Federal Motorway 45, short form Autobahn 45, abbreviated as BAB 45 or A 45) is an autobahn in Germany, connecting Dortmund in the west with Aschaffenburg in the southwest. It is colloquially known as the Sauerlandlinie (Sauerland line) as it runs through the hilly, rural Sauerland region between Hagen and Siegen. The A45 has many bridges to cross valleys, the highest of which is the Sichter Valley bridge (Talbrücke Sichter) between Lüdenscheid and Meinerzhagen at 530 metres above mean sea level. It is mostly two lanes each way with frequent climbing lanes between Dortmund-Hafen and the Gambacher Kreuz intersection. In March 2013 30 people were injured in a pile-up on the A45.

A 45 shield}}
A 45
Bundesautobahn 45
Map
Route information
Length257 km (160 mi)
Major junctions
North end A 2 in Dortmund
South end A 3 in Seligenstadt
Location
CountryGermany
StatesNorth Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, Bavaria
Highway system
  • Roads in Germany
A 44 A 46

History

edit

During the 1960s and 1970s a southward extension was proposed as the „Odenwald-Neckar-Alb-Autobahn“ (ONAA), to pass through Groß-Umstadt, Michelstadt, Schwaigern, Neckarwestheim, Mundelsheim, Berglen, Remshalden, Lichtenwald and Schlierbach, linking the ONAA to the A 8 near Kirchheim unter Teck, however the project was abandoned for ecological reasons in 1979 by the state government of Baden-Württemberg.

Trajectory

edit

The A 45 branches off the A 2 at the Dortmund Nord-West intersection, passes through the eastern Ruhr area and enters the Sauerland near Hagen. It then enters the Siegerland and the state of Hesse, where the A 45 is joined by the A 66 between the interchanges Hanauer Kreuz and Langenselbolder Dreieck. A short stretch of road, between junctions Alzenau and Mainhausen, is on Bavarian territory, then the A 45 merges with the A 3 at the interchange Seligenstädter Dreieck in the state of Hesse, just to the west of the Bavarian city of Aschaffenburg. The Rahmede viaduct near Lüdenscheid was closed on 2 December 2021, due to damage to its structure. It was demolished in May 2023[1] and is due to be replaced.

Numerical listing of Exits and Junctions

edit
 
A 45 near Lüdenscheid view north
  (2) Dortmund-Nordwest 4-way interchange   A 2
  (3) Castrop-Rauxel-Ost 4-way interchange   A 42
  (4) Dortmund-Hafen
  (5) Dortmund-West 4-way interchange   A 40  B 1
  (6) Dortmund-Eichlinghofen
  (7) Dortmund / Witten 4-way interchange   A 44
  (8) Dortmund-Süd   B 54
  (9) Westhofener Kreuz   A 1
  Ruhrbrücke
  (10) Schwerte-Ergste
  Lennetalbrücke
  (11) Hagen 4-way interchange   A 46
  (12) Hagen-Süd
  Talbrücke Kattenohl 300 m
  Talbrücke Brunsbecke 500 m
  Talbrücke Sürenhagen
  Talbrücke Eichelnbleck
  Raststätte Rölveder Mühle + Kaltenborn
  (13) Lüdenscheid-Nord
  Rahmedetalbrücke 453 m
  (14) Lüdenscheid
    Services Sauerland
  (15) Lüdenscheid-Süd
  Talbrücke Homert 200 m
  Talbrücke Sichter 400 m
  Talbrücke Immecke 200 m
  (16) Meinerzhagen
  Talbrücke Beustenbach 400 m
  Talbrücke Lüdespert 300 m
  Talbrücke Bleche 557 m
  Talbrücke Germinghausen 200 m
  (17) Drolshagen-Wegeringhausen
  Talbrücke Wintersohl 300 m
  (18) Olpe   B 54
  Talbrücke Rosenthal 400 m
  Talbrücke Rüblinghausen 300 m
  Talbrücke Sassmicke 700 m
  (19) Olpe-Süd 4-way interchange   A 4
  Talbrücke Gerlingen 400 m
  Talbrücke Ottfingen 200 m
  Talbrücke Büschergrund 400 m
  (20) Freudenberg / Siegen-West
    Services Siegerland
  (21) Siegen   B 62
  Siegtalbrücke 1.050 m
  (22) Siegen-Eisern
  Talbrücke Eisern 327m
  (23) Wilnsdorf
  N.N 400 m
  (24) Haiger / Burbach   B 54
  Talbrücke Kalteiche 500 m
  Dilltalbrücke Haiger 801 m
  Talbrücke Sechshelden 1.100 m
  (25) Dillenburg   B 277
  Marbachtalbrücke 500 m
  Lützelbachtalbrücke 300 m
    Ambachtalbrücke 438 m
    Windelbachtalbrücke 400 m
    Services Dollenberg  
  Kallenbachtalbrücke 200 m
  (26) Herborn-West   B 255
  (27) Herborn-Süd   B 277
  Rehbachbrücke 200 m
  Heubachtalbrücke 300 m
  Dilltalbrücke Edingen 801 m
  Onsbachtalbrücke 300 m
  Volkersbachtalbrücke 300 m
    Services Katzenfurt  
  (28) Ehringshausen
  Lemptalbrücke 300 m
  Kreuzbachtalbrücke 300 m
  Talbrücke Bechlingen 300 m
  Bornbachtalbrücke 300 m
  (29) Wetzlarer Kreuz   A 480
  Blasbachtalbrücke 500 m
  Lahnbrücke 500 m
  (30) Wetzlar-Ost   B 49  E40  E44
  (31) Wetzlar-Süd
  Talbrücke Münchholzhausen 600 m
  (32) Gießen-Lützellinden
  (33) Gießener Südkreuz   A 485  B 3
  Talbrücke Langgöns 440 m
  (35) Gambacher Kreuz   A 5
  (36) Münzenberg   B 488
  (37) Wölfersheim   B 455
  (38) Florstadt   B 275
  (39) Altenstadt   B 521
    Services Langen - Bergheim
  (41) Langenselbold-West  
  (42) Langenselbolder Dreieck   A 66
  Kinzigbrücke
  (43) Hanauer Kreuz   A 66  B 43a
  (44) Alzenau
  (45a) Karlstein
  (45b) Kleinostheim   B 8
  Mainbrücke 450 m
  (46) Mainhausen
  (47) Seligenstadt 3-way interchange   A 3

References

edit
  1. ^ "330 Pounds of Explosives Used to Demolish Unsafe Autobahn Bridge". Yahoo. 2023-05-09. Archived from the original on 2023-05-23.
edit

  Media related to Bundesautobahn 45 at Wikimedia Commons