I posted some photos from my trip to Europe last November. specifically, A15 in Germany and 18 in Poland, between Cottbus and Legnica.
https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2012/06/07/the-last-reichsautobahn/
(//www.aaroads.com/shields/blog/photos/121153.jpg)
this segment of road was built in 1938 and hasn't been modified since!
I noticed the cobblestone exit ramp picture from Poland had an American-looking STOP sign! Nice! :)
Love the lighting, even if it obscures the road somewhat. Excellent work as always.
Quote from: KEVIN_224 on June 07, 2012, 11:53:58 AM
I noticed the cobblestone exit ramp picture from Poland had an American-looking STOP sign! Nice! :)
yep! as I recall, the visibility at that intersection is poor: ramp traffic has to struggle to see traffic coming from the right. so, a yield is not appropriate. the stop sign is Polish standard - I believe by now all European countries use the US-style red octagon.
It's hard to see how rough the Polish side is from the picture you have. This one shows the condition more clearly: https://ssl.panoramio.com/photo_explorer#view=photo&position=1591&with_photo_id=40671765&order=date_desc&user=4330700
Still, astoundingly good condition for 75 year old pavement! A bit of diamond grinding and patching would probably breathe some life into it; it's clear Poland doesn't have the funds to do something more substantial.
I think the Nazi-built section of autobahn was the only section of freeway within the Warsaw Pact boundaries not including East Germany.
Rick
Quote from: JREwing78 on June 07, 2012, 09:42:32 PM
It's hard to see how rough the Polish side is from the picture you have. This one shows the condition more clearly: https://ssl.panoramio.com/photo_explorer#view=photo&position=1591&with_photo_id=40671765&order=date_desc&user=4330700
thanks for the better photo! I really should have stopped and gotten a good pic, especially of the cobblestone.
QuoteStill, astoundingly good condition for 75 year old pavement! A bit of diamond grinding and patching would probably breathe some life into it; it's clear Poland doesn't have the funds to do something more substantial.
they do; they just don't consider it to be all that important. their A4 freeway takes a slightly different angle out of Legnica to get to Germany, and for them that is currently sufficient.
Quote from: nexus73 on June 07, 2012, 10:40:30 PM
I think the Nazi-built section of autobahn was the only section of freeway within the Warsaw Pact boundaries not including East Germany.
Rick
as of the 1955 ratification of the Pact, I believe you are correct. But I know Hungary had some freeways by the early 80s, as I remember riding on freeway-standard M1 and M3 (and maybe M0 and M5 as well??) around 1983-84.
I do not know about other Warsaw Pact countries - my only distinct memory is a trip to Prague and that was all on two-laners... but that may have been due to my dad's shunpiking tendencies!