Breakdown on the A3

From the Elten border crossing south and east

The A3 begins at the former Elten border crossing as a continuation of the Dutch Rijksweg 12, initially running four lanes wide at some distance parallel to the Rhine. Past Eltenberg and Emmerich it follows the Dutch border through the sparsely populated right bank of the Lower Rhine, reaches the first city of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region at Wesel, and crosses the Lippe and the Wesel-Datteln canal near Hünxe. At the Oberhausen interchange, the A2 starts heading north and east, while the main carriageway continues into Oberhausen as the A516; drivers wanting to stay on the A3 need to change lanes. For your location, that means: tell us whether you're before or after the interchange.

The Ruhr area: Oberhausen, Duisburg, Kaiserberg

South of the Oberhausen interchange, the A3 has six lanes, and keeps that width, apart from short stretches at interchanges, all the way to Nuremberg. At the Oberhausen-West interchange it crosses the A42 (Emscherschnellweg); further south it crosses the Rhine-Herne canal and the Ruhr. The Kaiserberg interchange with the A40 (Ruhrschnellweg) is a complex layout with several ramps packed into a tight space, due to the acute angle and the parallel railway lines to Duisburg's main station. The motorway there passes through the grounds of Duisburg Zoo, which has a planted green bridge over it. The yellow Expo bridge now stands in Duisburg's city forest. At the Breitscheid interchange there are connections to the A52 and A524, and at the Ratingen-Ost interchange a section of the A44 ends, beginning the eastern part of Düsseldorf's motorway ring. More on the region: Essen and Düsseldorf.

The Niederbergisches Land, Leverkusen, Cologne

At the Hilden interchange, the A46 ends the eastern bypass of Düsseldorf. At the Langenfeld triangle, the A542 forms a cross-link to the A59. After the Wupper near Opladen, the Cologne area begins. The Leverkusen interchange with the A1 marks the start of Cologne's eastern motorway ring, and there the A3 has eight lanes, said to be the busiest motorway section in Germany. From the Cologne-Ost interchange it shares its carriageway with the A4; at the Cologne-Heumar triangle the A4 branches off again and the southernmost section of the A59 begins. More on this at Breakdown on the A3 near Cologne. If you break down in this section, it's worth knowing the steps in our guide Breaking down on the motorway, since traffic is heavy.

The Königsforst, the Agger valley, the Westerwald

Past Heumar, the A3 runs through the Königsforst, reaching the Sülz valley near Rösrath and the Agger valley shortly before Lohmar. It curves past Cologne/Bonn Airport, which is only connected via the parallel A59, crosses the Sieg near Siegburg, and crosses the A560 at the Bonn/Siegburg interchange. From there to Frankfurt, the high-speed Cologne–Rhine/Main ICE rail line runs parallel. While the railway uses many bridges and tunnels, the A3 has numerous bends and gradients. Past the Siebengebirge, it climbs onto the heights of the Westerwald and crosses into Rhineland-Palatinate above Bad Honnef. At the highest point between Cologne and Frankfurt, near Willroth, the headframe of the former Georg iron-ore mine stands beside the route. At the Dernbach triangle the A48 joins; near Montabaur it crosses the B255, and at the Elzer Berg a notable descent leads into the Limburg basin. Around here the motorway crosses into Hesse.

Limburg, the Taunus, the Wiesbaden interchange

Past Limburg, the A3 crosses the Lahn valley on a high bridge and runs through the Idstein depression. Shortly before Idstein it climbs onto the Taunus ridge, crossing it at its narrowest point near Niedernhausen, followed by a long descent through the Vordertaunus into the Untermain plain. At the Wiesbaden interchange, the A3 connects with the A66; near Raunheim it crosses the Main for the first time. Past the bridge, the A67 branches off at the Mönchhof triangle. The A3 then passes through the grounds of Frankfurt Airport. Two taxiway bridges there carry aircraft over the motorway and the ICE line, and near Terminal 1 the airport's long-distance railway station stands right next to the motorway. Further east follows the Frankfurter Kreuz with the A5, see Towing Service Frankfurt.

The Spessart, Würzburg, the Steigerwald, Nuremberg

At the Seligenstadt triangle, the A3 crosses into Bavaria. Near Aschaffenburg there are two noise-protection enclosures east of the town. Between Aschaffenburg and Würzburg it climbs continuously through the Spessart, with an extra fourth lane on several gradients; the highest point lies just past Rohrbrunn at about 520 metres. Near Wertheim it briefly crosses into Baden-Württemberg. At the Würzburg-West triangle the A81 branches off; through the Katzenberg tunnel it descends into the Main valley, and at the Biebelried interchange it crosses the A7. Then follow the Steigerwald, the Aischgrund and Erlangen, the A73 (Frankenschnellweg) at the Fürth/Erlangen interchange, and, in the Nuremberg Reichswald, the Nuremberg interchange with the A9. From there the A3 continues via Regensburg and Deggendorf to Passau.

What we do on the A3

You describe your location, vehicle and problem, and we organise the callout. Faster is based in Antwerp, Belgium; partners on the ground drive out on the A3. We don't give a fixed arrival time, since traffic, roadworks and gradients affect it along this route. We stay your point of contact on the phone.

How to describe your location on the A3

• Direction of travel: towards Oberhausen/Cologne, or towards Frankfurt, Würzburg, Nuremberg, Passau.
• Last or next interchange, triangle, or exit.
• Notable features: tunnel, enclosure, bridge, climb with a fourth lane.
• The state or landscape, if you can't read a sign, for example the Westerwald or the Spessart.

All motorway pages: Breakdown help on the motorway (German). Other routes: A7 and A9.