Overview
- The Autobahn GmbH disclosed Monday that it has put planning for the last roughly 40‑kilometre six‑lane stretch (Grabenstätt to the Austrian border) on hold and will prioritise bridge renewal and an interim four‑lane cross‑section with a side strip.
- Planners cite about 82 mostly 1930s‑built bridges whose deteriorating condition forces immediate replacement work and makes a full three‑lane‑each‑direction widening impractical without long closures or temporary bridge propping.
- The Federal Ministry of Transport says the route will be expanded to six lanes only up to the Felden junction for now, while the section to the border will receive the interim preservation solution and replacement of defective bridges to keep traffic safe.
- Police enforcement of local through‑traffic bans has already been tightened to limit town diversion, with officers checking 157 vehicles on a holiday Saturday and returning 132 drivers to the motorway, and traffic clubs warn of renewed heavy return flows in mid‑August.
- The decision has provoked political disagreement — Bavarian and federal ministers publicly reaffirm the six‑lane objective — and legal challenges by Bund Naturschutz remain unresolved with a Federal Administrative Court hearing set for January 2027, leaving the long‑term scope uncertain.