The Reichsautobahn network as it was ultimately conceived was to extend into most of the planned "Lebensraum" in the conquered territories; along with a trio of eastward and southward extensions of the extreme broad-gauge "Breitspurbahn" rail system, the highways were intended to provide the main connections for the "settlement strings" of German immigrant "Wehrbauer" communities to be located in conquered Soviet territory. The addition of Austria to the Reich in 1938 resulted in an extension of the previously Vienna-centered road system and major planning and construction efforts in the Alpine regions. The West Autobahn between Vienna and Salzburg was started within weeks with much publicity, but only a few kilometers around Salzburg were finished by 1942.