Bundesautobahn 115

Bundesautobahn 115
Country	DEU
Route	115
Length km	28
Terminus a	Berlin-Zehlendorf
Terminus b	Drewitz
States	Berlin; Brandenburg

Bundesautobahn 115

Bundesautobahn 115 is a 28-kilometre motorway in Germany connecting southwestern Berlin with the Brandenburg junction near Drewitz, forming a link between urban Zehlendorf districts and the national Autobahn network. It serves as a connector between the inner-city ring roads such as the Bundesstraße 1 corridors and regional arteries toward Potsdam, while intersecting transit routes that connect to nodes like Berlin Brandenburg Airport and long-distance corridors to Magdeburg and Leipzig.

Route description

The route begins in the Berlin borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf near the Wannsee area, passes major urban nodes adjacent to Dahlem, and follows a southwesterly alignment toward the Brandenburg state line. Along its course the motorway interchanges with arterial routes including the Bundesstraße 1, links to the A100 urban ring, and provides access to cultural sites such as Schloss Cecilienhof and transport hubs like Berlin Hauptbahnhof via connecting roads. The motorway traverses landscapes influenced by the Havelland region before terminating near the Drewitz junction, where it connects with routes leading toward Magdeburg and the Bundesautobahn 9 corridor.

History

The motorway traces its origins to early 20th-century expressway projects and the interwar expansion of Reichsautobahnen, with construction phases influenced by political events including the era of the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich. During the Cold War the corridor acquired strategic importance amid the Berlin Wall division, with crossings regulated under agreements involving Allied occupation of Germany authorities and monitored by entities like the Soviet Union and Western Allied Control Council representatives. After German reunification following the Two Plus Four Agreement and the German reunification process, the route underwent rehabilitation to integrate into the reunified Federal Republic of Germany's transport plan, informed by federal statutes such as the Bundesverkehrswegeplan.

Infrastructure and engineering

Engineering works along the motorway include grade-separated interchanges inspired by early Reichsautobahn standards and later rehabilitations adhering to modern guidelines from bodies such as the Bundesanstalt für Straßenwesen and European standards influenced by the European Committee for Standardization. Key structures include bridges spanning the Havel tributaries and viaducts rebuilt to accommodate axle-load regulations enforced by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure. Pavement rehabilitation employed techniques comparable to projects on other corridors like the A9 (Germany), with noise-abatement barriers installed near residential zones in coordination with municipal authorities in Berlin neighborhoods such as Zehlendorf and adjacent Potsdam suburbs.

Traffic and usage

Traffic patterns on the route reflect commuter flows between Berlin and Potsdam, long-distance freight movements toward western nodes like Hannover and southern connections toward Leipzig, and tourist traffic accessing destinations such as Sanssouci and the Wannsee recreational areas. Peak volumes are influenced by seasonal tourism and events hosted in venues including Olympiastadion and institutional centers such as Freie Universität Berlin. Traffic management practices incorporate measures from the Federal Police (Germany) and regional transport agencies, with incident response coordinated with emergency services in Brandenburg and urban traffic control centers linked to Berlin Senate Department for the Environment, Transport and Climate Protection.

Exit list

The exit network includes interchanges serving Zehlendorf, Dahlem, links to Bundesstraße 1, connections toward Potsdam and access at Drewitz for regional distribution. Exits provide multimodal connectivity to rail hubs including Wannsee station and bus corridors interfacing with municipal networks operated by entities such as the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe. Several junctions were upgraded in coordination with state planning offices in Brandenburg and municipal planning commissions in Berlin to improve interchange capacity and safety.

Future plans and upgrades

Planned interventions involve capacity upgrades, resurfacing projects overseen under iterations of the Bundesverkehrswegeplan and local investment programs aligning with European Union cohesion priorities. Proposals include interchange modernization influenced by lessons from upgrades on corridors like A2 (Germany), installation of intelligent transport systems compatible with standards promoted by the European Commission, and environmental mitigation measures responding to directives from agencies such as the Federal Environment Agency (Germany). Coordination between the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, the governments of Berlin and Brandenburg, and regional stakeholders aims to balance mobility demands with heritage protection for nearby sites like Potsdam palaces.

Category:Autobahns in Germany Category:Transport in Berlin Category:Transport in Brandenburg