A8 motorway (Switzerland)
The A8 motorway, an Autobahn in central Switzerland, is a divided highway connecting the Bernese Oberland and the Innerschweiz. It is part of the National Road N8. For the Canton of Obwalden, it is the lifeline that has allowed the settling of industrial firms in this historically predominantly agricultural region. Via the A8, speedy connections to the major economic centers in the Mittelland and the north–south transit axis A2 are now possible. For tourists, A8 opens up in the opposite direction: the large ski resorts in the Bernese Oberland and the tourism regions around the Brünig  Pass and Interlaken. Route. The A8 provides a scenic route to the Lake Thun to Interlaken, passing the former Mystery Park and continues along the southern shore of Lake Brienz for Brienz BE, where it winds its way on up to the Brünig pass. Transportation. The A8 is the only east–west connection in the region that is open year-round, and hence it has heavy traffic. Except in the Interlaken area and Sarnen, where it is four lanes, it is mostly an Autostrasse road (wider, with hard shoulders and designed for 100 km/h speeds); however the Brünig Pass  section is just a normal pass road (80km/h speed limit although the practical limit is considerably less in sections). Development projects are underway in Lungern (Bypass Tunnel, opening 2012) and between the Sachseln bypass tunnel and the Zollhouse tunnel (opening mid-2010). In planning is another tunnel, which will link the Giswil tunnel up to Kaiserstuhl. A Bruenigpass tunnel has been under consideration for decades but is not currently part of the official long term planning due in part to concerns about increasing the quantity of heavy goods traffic from Bern along the route. Military use. The A8 motorway (Switzerland ) near Alpnach Air Base was built so that it could be used as a takeoff and landing runway and was associated with temporary taxiways with the Aircraft cavern. However, only take-off were made for safety reasons, the landings were made on the normal runway with F-5 "Tiger". . Major engineering works. The following are major construction projects underway along A8: The following are planned or under consideration: