The A1 motorway (), also known as Slovenika, is long, connecting Šentilj (at the Austrian border) and Koper/Capodistria (on the shores of the Adriatic Sea). It connects several of the largest metropolitan areas of the country, including Maribor, Celje and Ljubljana, all the way to the Slovenian Littoral and port town of Koper. Construction began in 1970 and the first section was finished in 1972, connecting Vrhnika and Postojna. Everyday operation of this initial stretch started on 29 December 1972. The connection to Koper was finished on 23 November 2004. The second-to-last part, from Trojane to Blagovica, was opened on 12 August 2005. It was also the most expensive, having eight viaducts and two tunnels despite being only 11 km long. The final section, the eastern Maribor bypass, opened on 14 August 2009. Route description The A1 motorway provides connection of Slovenia and Austria (only other motorway with border crossing to Austria being A2 motorway and was from the very start important route, because it connected three largest cities in Slovenia – Ljubljana, Maribor and Celje. On the other hand, it also connected all those cities with Slovenian coast and provided better conditions for transit to Port of Koper. As of 2013 it is also the only motorway that is connected to all the other motorways in Slovenia. As of 2013 motorway always has at least two traffic lanes in each direction and is rarely without emergency lane. On some parts it has three traffic lanes in one direction and two in another (usually the additional is for slow vehicles). Only Tunnel Golovec has three lanes in each direction. It was also planned that some other parts of highway will get additional lanes but most of plans were postponed due to lack of money. Toll Until 1 July 2008 all vehicles had to stop at tollgates and pay a toll. Since that date vignettes are required for all vehicles up to 3.5 tons, while heavier vehicles must still pay the toll at a tollgate. Tollgates are being rearranged so that two traffic lanes for lighter vehicles (with vignettes) are no longer divided by tollgates and vehicles can drive through at 60 kilometres per hour (37 miles per hour). Where tollgates are still standing as they were before 1 July 2008, the speed limit is 40 kilometres per hour (25 miles per hour). Since 2018, heavy vehicles need to pay toll