# D3 motorway (Slovakia)

D3 motorway (Slovak: Diaľnica D3) (formerly D18), sometimes called the Kysuce Motorway, is a motorway in northern Slovakia. Initially, it is supposed to be only a two-lane motorway in the Svrčinovec - Slovak/Polish border section, and four-lane motorway in the remaining Hričovské Podhradie - Čadca section. The D3 motorway is part of the main route of the 6th Pan-European corridor and it lies on these E-roads: E50, E75 and E442. When completed, it will become the third longest Slovak motorway.
The construction of the D3 motorway is extremely technically demanding as it takes place in the mountainous terrain of northern Slovakia. There are a total of four tunnels on the D3 motorway with a total length of slightly more than 4 kilometres (2.5 mi). Currently, three of these four tunnels are in operation in a half profile, the Horelica tunnel (605 m), the Poľana tunnel (898 m), the Svrčinovec tunnel (420 m) and one tunnel in a full profile, the Považský Chlmec tunnel (2,249 m)
It starts at the motorway junction with the D1, bypassing Žilina, then goes to the north around Kysucké Nové Mesto and Čadca, having an interchange with the R5, and ends near the village of Skalité, where it crosses the Polish border and connects to Expressway S1. This is one of the most important motorways in Slovakia and a vignette is required to use the motorway.

## Chronology

The construction of a 5.6 kilometres (3.5 mi) stretch of the D3 highway between Čadca, Bukov and Svrčinovec (in the Kysuce area) started on 24 January 2017 with the tapping of the foundation stone in the centre of Čadca.
An open day was held at the Svrčinovec – Skalité section on 27 May 2017. The entire section was officially handed over for use on 10 June 2017, after twenty years of planning and construction. Construction was delayed for a year. It was estimated that the section is 9 minutes faster to drive after opening. The total cost of both sections was 417 million euros. The sections have a total length of 15,460 metres, 29 bridge structures with a total length of 3,782 metres, 2 tunnels, 2 junctions and one rest area.
Construction of the Horelica Tunnel northwest of Skalité began in July 2000, and the breakthrough was achieved in May 2002. The tunnel with Čadca bypass was opened on October 29, 2004, and it replaced road 11, which runs across the town of Čadca.

### Future developments

Kysucké Nové Mesto - Oščadnica is a planned section with a length of 10.8 kilometres (6.7 mi), which will run parallel to the I/11 road. The construction process is currently underway and construction is scheduled to begin in 2025.

## Route description

| Country | Region | Location | km | mi | Exit | Name | Destinations | Notes |
| Slovakia | Žilina Region | Žilina Region | 0 | 0.0 | — | Hričovské Podhradie | D1 E50 E75 E442 | Kilometrage starting point |
| Slovakia | Žilina Region | Žilina Region | 2 | 1.2 | — | Letisko Žilina | | |
| Slovakia | Žilina Region | Žilina Region | 8 | 5.0 | — | Žilina-západ | I/61 E50 E442 | |
| Slovakia | Žilina Region | Žilina Region | 12 | 7.5 | — | Žilina-sever | I/11 | Temporary end |
| Slovakia | Žilina Region | Žilina Region | 18 | 11 | — | Kysucké Nové Mesto | I/11 | In preparation |
| Slovakia | Žilina Region | Žilina Region | 33 | 21 | — | Krásno nad Kysucou | | |
| Slovakia | Žilina Region | Žilina Region | 35 | 22 | — | Oščadnica | I/11 | Temporary start Temporary single carriageway from this point |
| Slovakia | Žilina Region | Žilina Region | 39 | 24 | — | Čadca-Bukov | I/11 | Temporary single carriageway ends; transition to full profile |
| Slovakia | Žilina Region | Žilina Region | 42 | 26 | — | Čadca-Podzávoz | I/11 | |
| Slovakia | Žilina Region | Žilina Region | 45 | 28 | — | Svrčinovec | I/11 | Transition to half profile |
| Slovakia | Žilina Region | Žilina Region | 45 | 28 | — | Svrčinovec | R5 E75 | To be expanded to the R5/E75 junction. |
| Slovakia | Žilina Region | Žilina Region | 58 | 36 | — | Skalité | I/12 | |
| Slovakia | Žilina Region | Žilina Region | 60 | 37 | Poland-Slovakia border | Skalité–Zwardoń border crossing | S 1 | Kilometrage end point Road continues as Polish S1 |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Proposed Route transition Unopened |||||||||

## Gallery

* D3 in front of the western portal of the Poľana tunnel
* Construction of the Valy Bridge in September 2015, view from Hrčava
* Sign signalling the connection to D3 (Svrčinovec)