# Bundesautobahn 44

Bundesautobahn 44 (translates from German as Federal Motorway 44, short form Autobahn 44, abbreviated as BAB 44 or A 44) is a German Autobahn. It consists of three main sections and a few smaller sections. It begins in Aachen at the German–Belgian border (Belgian motorway A3) and ends near Kassel (Bundesautobahn 7). Before German unification it was a regional motorway. In the 1990s, it became an integral part of the German motorway system. The A 44 is a heavily-used link between the Rhine-Ruhr-Area and the new German states, especially Thuringia, and also eastern European states like Poland.

## History of construction

The first section of this motorway to open was the connection between Aachen and the Aachen interchange in 1963.

### Auxiliary runway for military aircraft

The Geseke-Büren section was constructed as an auxiliary runway. This section is even and straight, without any constructions like bridges and the crash-barriers can be taken out. It was constructed to be a runway for US-military aircraft in the event of war with NATO's opponent, the Warsaw Pact. At both ends of the section there are parking lots for parking and maintenance of the aircraft.

## International E-road network

The Lichtenbusch-Aaachen interchange section is part of the European route E 40. Between the Dortmund-Unna and Kassel-Süd (Kassel south) interchanges, the A 44 is part of the European route E 331.

## Constructions
### Neersen Interchange

Neersen Interchange is a typical cloverleaf interchange.
After the opening of the Flughafenbrücke near Düsseldorf Airport, the connections to and from the A 52 were extended. Since the opening, two ramps have been closed. If you enter the network at Mönchengladbach-Ost, you cannot change directly to the Roermond-bound direction of A 52. If you approach from Krefeld, you cannot change directly to the Düsseldorf-bound direction. To reactivate these connections, two new bridges are necessary. Construction has been in progress since January 2006. When construction is complete, the interchange will have the following connections:

#### Connections from A 44 to A 52

| Direction | Type of connection |
| Mönchengladbach–Düsseldorf | Tangential ramp |
| Krefeld–Roermond | Tangential ramp |
| Mönchengladbach–Roermond | Using the ramp Mönchengladbach–Düsseldorf and via the northwestern loop |
| Krefeld–Düsseldorf | Loop (270°) |

#### Connections from A 52 to A 44

| Direction | Type of connection |
| Düsseldorf–Mönchengladbach | Loop (270°) |
| Roermond–Krefeld | A bridge over the A 44 will be constructed. |
| Roermond–Mönchengladbach | Loop (270°) |
| Düsseldorf–Krefeld | Tangential ramp |

## Plans
### Extension near Kassel

Near Kassel, the Autobahn will be extended to Thuringia. The following sections are planned:
| Section | Status | Length (km) | Cost (€ millions) |
| interchange Kassel-Ost – jct Helsa-Ost | project investigations | 17.5 | 287 |
| jct Helsa-Ost - jct Hessisch Lichtenau-West | Opened 7 October 2022 | 5.9 | 327 |
| jct Hessisch Lichtenau-West – jct Hessisch Lichtenau-Mitte | Opened 24 July 2014 | 2.2 | 85 |
| jct Hessisch Lichtenau-Mitte – jct Hessisch Lichtenau-Ost | Opened 6 October 2005 | 4.4 | 84 |
| jct Hessisch Lichtenau-Ost - Walburg–Hasselbach [de] | Opened 13th April 2018 | 4.3 | 83 |
| Walburg-Hasselbach – jct Waldkappel-Ost | Opened 13th April 2018 | 6.1 | 56 |
| jct Waldkappel-Ost - Wehretal/Hoheneiche | Under construction. Expected opening 2025 | 7.2 | 183 |
| Wehretal/Hoheneiche - jct Sontra-Nord | Under construction. Expected opening 2025 | 5.4 | 159 |
| jct Sontra-Nord - jct Sontra-Ulfen | Under construction. Expected opening 2025 | 11.0 | 240 |
| jct Sontra-Ulfen – interchange Wommen (A 4) | Under construction. Expected opening 2025 | 5.8 | 75 |

### Demolition of a section

The interchange Jackerath-interchange Holz section and the Otzenrath junction were permanently closed to traffic on 14 October 2005. The reason for the closure was the open mine at Garzweiler II. Before this section was closed, the Bundesautobahn 61 was widened from two to three lanes in each direction. For the closed junction, the junction Mönchengladbach-Wanlo was constructed.
When the open cast mine was exhausted, expected in 2017, a new section of the A 44 was built across the A 61. This new route is built to the south of the old route, and the new junction Jackerath is now located south of the old one.
This section was taken out of the official network-register in November 2005 and is no longer officially a Bundesautobahn.

## Exit list

A3 E40||Belgium :
| | (1) | Border crossing Lichtenbusch |
| | | Services Lichtenbusch |
| | (2) | Aachen-Lichtenbusch B 258 |
| | (3) | Aachen-Brand |
| | (4) | Aachen 4-way interchange A 4 E40 A 544 |
| | (5a) | Broichweiden |
| | | Alsdorf-Begau (access in direction Aachen only) |
| | (5b) | Alsdorf (Rheinland) |
| | (6) | Aldenhoven B 56 |
| | (7) | Jülich-West B 56 |
| | | Raststätte Ruraue |
| | | Rurbrücke |
| | (8) | Jülich-Ost B 55 |
| | (9) | Titz |
| | (10) | Jackerath 3-way interchange A 61 |
| | (11) | Holz 3-way interchange A 46 |
| | (12) | Mönchengladbach-Odenkirchen |
| interrupted (not required) ||
| | (21) | Mönchengladbach-Ost |
| | (22) | Neersen 4-way interchange A 52 |
| | (incl.) | Neersen (touches B 7) |
| | (23) | Münchheide |
| | (24) | Krefeld-Forstwald |
| | (25) | Krefeld-Fichtenhain |
| | (26) | Osterath |
| | (27) | Meerbusch 4-way interchange A 57 |
| | (28) | Lank-Latum |
| | | Tunnel Strümp 640 m |
| | | Tunnel Ilvericher Altrheinschlinge 870 m |
| | | Flughafenbrücke 1.287 m |
| | (29) | Düsseldorf-Messe/Stadion |
| | (30) | Düsseldorf-Stockum B 8 |
| | | Tunnel Flughafentunnel 1070 m |
| | (31) | Düsseldorf-Flughafen |
| | | Bahnbrücke 60 m |
| | | Kreuz Düsseldorf-Nord (planned) A 59 |
| | (32) | Düsseldorf-Nord 4-way interchange A 52 |
| | | Tunnel Schwarzbach 154 m / 150 m |
| | (32) | Düsseldorf-Nord 4-way interchange A 52 |
| | | 3-way interchange Rath (planned) A 59 |
| | | Tunnel Reichswaldallee 695 m / 725 m (planned) |
| | (incl.) | Reichswaldallee |
| | | Tunnel Volkardey 695 m / 725 m |
| | (33) | Ratingen-Schwarzbach |
| | (34) | Kreuz Ratingen-Ost 4-way interchange A 3 E35 |
| | | Talbrücke Kaltenbach 129 m |
| | | Talbrücke Homberger Bachtal 216 m |
| | | Angerbachbrücke 319 m |- |
| | (35) | Heiligenhaus |
| | | Talbrücke Laubecker Bachtal 206 m |
| | | Talbrücke Ganslandsiepen 194 m |
| | (36) | Heiligenhaus-Hetterscheid |
| | | Tunnel Birth 807 m / 814 m |
| | (37) | Velbert-Nord B 224 |
| | (37a) | Velbert-Nord 3-way interchange A 535 |
| | | Talbrücke Hespersbach |
| | (38) | Velbert-Langenberg |
| | | Asbachtalbrücke 323 m |
| | (39) | Essen-Kupferdreh |
| | | Hochstraßebrücke 540 m |
| | (40) | Essen-Überruhr |
| | | Ruhr |
| | (41) | Essen-Heisingen |
| | | Essen-Bergerhausen (planned) |
| | | Tunnel Ruhralleetunnel 2500 m (planned) |
| | | Kreuz Essen-Bergerhausen (planned) A 52 |
| interrupted (further need) ||
| | | Tankstelle - |
| | (52) | Dortmund/Unna 4-way interchange A 1 E37 E331 |
| | | Talbrücke Bornekamp |
| | (53) | Unna-Ost 4-way interchange A 443 |
| | | Talbrücke Kessebürenbach |
| | | Talbrücke Lüner Bach |
| | | Services Am Haarstrang |
| | (54) | Werl 4-way interchange A 445 |
| | (55) | Werl-Süd im Bau |
| | | Talbrücke Ostönner Bach |
| | (56) | Soest |
| | | Services Soester Börde |
| | (57) | Soest-Ost |
| | (58) | Erwitte/Anröchte |
| | | Talbrücke Pöppelsche |
| | | Talbrücke Schledde |
| | | Talbrücke Westerschledde |
| | (59) | Geseke |
| | (60) | Büren |
| | | Almebrücke |
| | | Talbrücke Friedenstal |
| | (61) | Wünnenberg-Haaren 4-way interchange A 33 |
| | | Talbrücke Ottensgrund 500 m |
| | (62) | Marsberg-Meerhof |
| | | Talbrücke Langer Grund 200 m |
| | | Talbrücke Apfelbaumgrund 350 m |
| | | Talbrücke Krügersgrund 375 m |
| | | Talbrücke Klingenbach 480 m |
| | | Talbrücke Heubach 200 m |
| | | Diemeltalbrücke 100 m |
| | | Services Am Biggenkopf |
| | (64) | Diemelstadt |
| | (65) | Warburg |
| | | Twistetalbrücke 650 m |
| | | Talbrücke Breuna 650 m |
| | (66) | Breuna |
| | | Services Bühleck |
| | (67) | Zierenberg |
| | (68) | Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe |
| | (69) | Kreuz Kassel-West A 49 |
| | | Fuldatalbrücke 700 m |
| | (70) | Dreieck Kassel-Süd A 7 E45 |
| | | Rest area Kassel (under construction) |
| | | 3-way interchange Kassel-Mitte A 49 |
| | | Talbrücke Losse 200 m |
| | | 3-way interchange Dreieck Kassel-Ost (planned) A 7 |
| | | Kaufungen (planned) |
| | | Helsa-West (planned) |
| | (75) | Helsa-Ost |
| | | Tunnel Hirschhagen 4100 m |
| | | Steinbachtalbrücke 134 m |
| | (76) | Hessisch Lichtenau-West B 7 |
| | | Tunnel Schulberg 700 m |
| | (77) | Hessisch Lichtenau-Mitte B 487 |
| | | Tunnel Hopfenberg 650 m } |
| | | Hopfenbachtalbrücke 280 m |
| | | Tunnel Walburgtunnel 273 m/284 m |
| | | Wehretalbrücke 530 m |
| | (78) | Hessisch Lichtenau/Walburg |
| | | Tunnel Küchentunnel 1314 m |
| | | Beerbergbrücke 176 m |
| | | Rauschenbrücke 233 m |
| | (79) | Waldkappel B 7 |
| | | Tunnel TrimbergTunnel 597 m |
| | | Eschwege (under construction) |
| | | Wehretalbrücke 695 m |
| | | Tunnel Spitzenbergtunnel 626 m |
| | | Netratalbrücke 264 m (planned) |
| | | Ringgau (planned) |
| | | Ulfetalbrücke 205 m (planned) |
| | | Tunnel Boyneburgtunnel 1698 m (planned) |
| | | Sontra-Nord (planned) |
| | | Tunnel Holsteintunnel 1647 m (planned) |
| | | Sontra-Ost (planned) |
| | | WC (planned) |
| | | Tunnel Bubenradtunnel 686 m (planned) |
| | | Talbrücke Lindenau 550 m (planned) |
| | | Talbrücke Rübenberg 100 m (planned) |
| | | Talbrücke Kulmrich 100 m (planned) |
| | | Tunnel Dachslochtunnel 300 m (planned) |
| | | Talbrücke Riedmühle 300 m (planned) |
| | | Talbrücke Blankenbach 200 m (planned) |
| | | Sontra-Ulfen (planned) |
| | | Tunnel Armsbergtunnel 290 m (planned) |
| | | Talbrücke Breitzbach 172 m (planned) |
| | | 3-way interchange Wommener Dreieck (planned) A 4 (planned / urgent need) |