the A 9 has a profile of at least three lanes and one emergency lane per direction. The section between Neufahrn and the München-Nord interchange north of Munich was upgraded between 2004 and 2006 to four lanes each way. A survey of this section recorded an average number of 143,000 vehicles per day and a maximum of 184,000. Since 2006 talks have been underway about turning the three-way interchange Holledau into a four-way, and extending the A 93 into the Pfaffenhofen area. Further plans and visions include widening the Hermsdorfer Kreuz to six lanes, and widening the sections Nuremberg – Nuremberg-East and Holledau – Neufahrn to eight lanes. On 26 January 2015 German transport minister Alexander Dobrindt announced plans to outfit an as yet undesignated section of the A9 in Bavaria as a test track for autonomous cars. Along the route East of Dessau, the autobahn crosses the Elbe River via the long Vockerode Bridge. Built in 1938 according to plans designed by Paul Bonatz, it was replaced by a new construction in the course of the A 9 extension from 1996 to 2000. The prominent tower at the northern end is preserved, it was widely known to transit travellers for its Plaste und Elaste aus Schkopau ("plastic and elastomer from Schkopau") neon sign, now on display at the German Historical Museum in Berlin. Close to exit 10, Dessau-East, a gravel pit had provided material for the construction of the autobahn. After 1939 the pit was renaturated and became the "Reichsautobahnbad Mildensee", with cabins to change, and eateries. It is still in use today as a beach, but not under the old name. The Dessauer Rennstrecke South of exit 11, Dessau-South, nearly ten kilometers of the roadbed — roughly from Thurland southwards to just north of the B 183 (ex-B 186) interchange (exit 12 for Bitterfeld/Wolfen of the modern A9 roadbed) — were upgraded with a paved-over median to become the "Dessauer Rennstrecke" (Dessau Racetrack), a 25-meter (82 ft) wide high-speed track intended for races and record attempts, such as by Rudolf Caracciola in 1938/39, Goldie Gardner in 1939 or those by Hans Stuck with the Mercedes-Benz T80 land speed record car, intended to start in January 1940 - the Rennstrecke segment itself had even been marked out on road maps as early as 1938. With its pillarless bridges and no interchange exits before 1945, but especially with the straight