is an autobahn in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. It is colloquially known as Ostseeautobahn or Küstenautobahn due to its geographic location near the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

 coastline. The road is not built along a straight line, instead it is built near important cities, to make it more beneficial for travel between these cities.

Construction started in 1992 near the junction Wismar

Wismar

Wismar , is a small port and Hanseatic League town in northern Germany on the Baltic Sea, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,about 45 km due east of Lübeck, and 30 km due north of Schwerin. Its natural harbour, located in the Bay of Wismar is well-protected by a promontory. The...

-Nord and was completed in December 2005, when the last section was opened near Tribsees

Tribsees

Tribsees is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated 33 km southwest of Stralsund, and 40 km east of Rostock....

 by Chancellor

Chancellor

Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...

 Angela Merkel

Angela Merkel

Angela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...

. Building costs are estimated at €

Euro

The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

 1.8 billion.
279 km of the autobahn are in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, 27 km in Brandenburg

Brandenburg

Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...

 and 30 km in Schleswig-Holstein

Schleswig-Holstein

Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...

, making the A 20 the longest continuously built new autobahn since 1945.

On July 28, 2009 the western extension started with the opening between Autobahnkreuz Lübeck

Lübeck

The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...

 and junction Geschendorf

Geschendorf

Geschendorf is a municipality in the district of Segeberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

. In the meantime the next six kilometers to the temporary end at Weede

Weede

Weede is a municipality in the district of Segeberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

 has been opened for traffic. The extension and opening of the section between the temporary end in Weede and Autobahnkreuz Bad Segeburg is planned for the end of 2010. Further extension west is planned and awaiting funding, including a tunnel under the Elbe and a 2-way connection with the also-planned A 26.

North of Hamburg the A 20 will have a unique function, namely the connection of the highways A 1, A 21, A 7 and A 23

Bundesautobahn 23

is an autobahn in Germany. It runs largely parallel to the Bundesstraße 5; its main purpose is to connect the hinterland of Hamburg. North of Heide, the A 23 becomes B 5 and connects Eiderstedt, Husum and the ferries to the islands of Nordfriesland to the autobahn network....

, but it will also function as a northern bypass of the city-region of Hamburg.

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