construction program. It invested in new sections and in improvements to older ones. Finishing the incomplete sections took longer, with some stretches opened to traffic by the 1980s. Some sections cut by the Iron Curtain in 1945 were only completed after German reunification in 1990. Others were never completed, as more advantageous routes were found. An example is between Bad Brückenau and Gemünden am Main on the Fulda-Würzburg route, which was replaced by A7. East Germany: 1949–1990 The autobahns of East Germany (GDR) were neglected in comparison to those in West Germany after 1945. East German autobahns were used primarily for GDR military traffic and for state-owned farming or manufacturing vehicles. The speed limit on the GDR autobahns was ; however, lower speed limits were frequently encountered due to poor or quickly changing road conditions. The speed limits on the GDR autobahns were rigorously enforced by the Volkspolizei, whose patrol cars were frequently found hiding under camouflage tarpaulins waiting for speeders. Reunification: 1990–present day The last of the remaining original Reichsautobahn, a section of A 11 northeast of Berlin near Gartz built in 1936—the westernmost remainder of the never-finished Berlinka—are scheduled for replacement around 2015. Roadway condition is described as "deplorable"; the -long concrete slabs, too long for proper expansion, are cracking under the weight of the traffic as well as the weather. Length Germany's autobahn network has a total length of about in 2021), and a density of 36 motorway kilometres per thousand square kilometers (Eurostat) which ranks it among the densest and longest controlled-access systems in the world, and fifth in density within the EU in 2016 (Netherlands 66, Finland 3). Longer similar systems can be found in the United States () and in China (). However both the U.S. and China have an area nearly 30 times bigger than Germany, which demonstrates the high density of Germany's highway system. German-built Reichsautobahnen in other countries The first autobahn in Austria was the West Autobahn from Wals near Salzburg to Vienna. Building started by command of Adolf Hitler shortly after the Anschluss in 1938. It extended the Reichsautobahn 26 from Munich (the present-day A 8), however only including the branch-off of the planned Tauern Autobahn was opened to the public on 13 September 1941. Construction works discontinued the next year and were not resumed until 1955. There are sections of the former German Reichsautobahn system in the former eastern