Bundesautobahn 71

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A 71
Bundesautobahn 71
Route information
Length220 km (140 mi)
Major junctions
FromSangerhausen
ToA 70 near Schweinfurt
Location
CountryGermany
StatesSaxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria
Major citiesArtern
Heldrungen
Kölleda
Sömmerda
Erfurt
Arnstadt
Ilmenau
Geraberg
Oberhof
Zella-Mehlis
Suhl
Meiningen
Mellrichstadt
Bad Neustadt
Münnerstadt
Bad Kissingen
Highway system
  • Roads in Germany
A 70 A 72

Bundesautobahn 71 (translates from German as Federal Motorway 71, short form Autobahn 71, abbreviated as BAB 71 or A 71) is an Autobahn in Germany. It connects the A 38 and Erfurt to the A 70 near Schweinfurt. A further northern extension to the A 14 near Plötzkau has been proposed by the state government of Sachsen-Anhalt.[1]

Construction on the A 71, supervised by DEGES, began in 1996, most parts were being opened by December 2005. The project was completed in September 2015. The section through the Thuringian Forest was the most expensive road ever built in Germany with an average cost of €10 million per kilometre (€16,000,000/mi). This section includes the Rennsteig Tunnel which is the longest road tunnel in Germany at 8 km (5.0 mi) and is called "Thüringer wald Autobahn" (Thuringian Forest Motorway).

Southern mouth of the Eichelberg tunnel near the town of Meiningen, seen from Jüchsetal bridge
  1. ^ Coalition agreement between CDU and SPD in Sachsen-Anhalt Archived May 8, 2013, at the Wayback Machine (page 56; German; PDF; 223 kB)