D3 motorway () (formerly D18), sometimes called the Kysuce Motorway, is a motorway in northern Slovakia. Initially, it is supposed to be only a two-lane motorway in the SvrÃÂinovec - Slovak/Polish border section, and four-lane motorway in the remaining HriÃÂovské Podhradie - ÃÂadca section. The D3 motorway is part of the main route of the 6th Pan-European corridor and it lies on these E-roads: E50, E75 and E442. When completed, it will become the third longest Slovak motorway.
The construction of the D3 motorway is extremely technically demanding as it takes place in the mountainous terrain of northern Slovakia. There are a total of four tunnels on the D3 motorway with a total length of slightly more than . Currently, three of these four tunnels are in operation in a half profile, the Horelica tunnel (605 m), the Poþana tunnel (898 m), the SvrÃÂinovec tunnel (420 m) and one tunnel in a full profile, the Povaà ¾ský Chlmec tunnel (2,249 m)
It starts at the motorway junction with the D1, bypassing à ½ilina, then goes to the north around Kysucké Nové Mesto and ÃÂadca, having an interchange with the R5, and ends near the village of Skalité, where it crosses the Polish border and connects to Expressway S1. This is one of the most important motorways in Slovakia and a vignette is required to use the motorway.
The construction of a stretch of the D3 highway between ÃÂadca, Bukov and SvrÃÂinovec (in the Kysuce area) started on 24 January 2017 with the tapping of the foundation stone in the centre of ÃÂadca.
An open day was held at the SvrÃÂinovec â Skalité section on 27 May 2017. The entire section was officially handed over for use on 10 June 2017, after twenty years of planning and construction. Construction was delayed for a year. It was estimated that the section is 9 minutes faster to drive after opening. The total cost of both sections was 417 million euros. The sections have a total length of 15,460 metres, 29 bridge structures with a total length of 3,782 metres, 2 tunnels, 2 junctions and one rest area.
Construction of the Horelica Tunnel northwest of Skalité began in July 2000, and the breakthrough was achieved in May 2002. The tunnel with ÃÂadca bypass was opened on October 29, 2004, and it replaced road 11, which runs across the town of ÃÂadca.
Kysucké Nové Mesto - Oà ¡ÃÂadnica is a planned section with a length of , which will run parallel to the I/11 road. The construction process is currently underway and construction is scheduled to begin in 2025.
Content in this edit is translated from the existing Slovak Wikipedia article at ; see its history for attribution.