D1 motorway (Slovakia)

The first plans to connect Prague to Slovakia and Mukachevo in today's Zakarpattia Oblast in Ukraine, which was part of Czechoslovakia at that time, were in the 1930s. The construction of the motorway (freeway) began in the Czech part in the late 1930s, but in the Slovak part nothing was built^{[citation needed]}. After the end of World War II, highway construction was abandoned, due to post-war reconstruction. But in the 1960s, traffic was growing very fast, and a new plan for a D1 highway was available soon, without the part in Zakarpattia Oblast, which became part of the USSR in 1945.^{[citation needed]}.

Construction began in 1973, by building the Ivachnová - Liptovský Mikuláš section, a 15-kilometre-long (9.3 mi) segment in northern Slovakia. Construction on this section finished in December 1977 and cost 241.3 million Czechoslovak korunas.^[6] In 1976, 6.4-kilometre-long (4.0 mi) section created the southern bypass of Liptovský Mikuláš. The total cost of the construction amounted to 368 million Czechoslovak korunas.^[6] The section between Liptovský Ján and Liptovský Hrádek with a length of 5.1-kilometre-long (3.2 mi) kilometres was under construction from April 1975 to December 1983 and had once the longest road bridge in Slovakia - the 1,035-metre-long Podtureň Viaduct.^[7]

Between 1978 and 1982, a 15.9-kilometre-long (9.9 mi) section was constructed between Trnava and Hlohovec. June 1980 saw the beginning of construction in a new 17.7-kilometre-long (11.0 mi) section between Hlohovec and Piešťany which was put into operation in 1985.

A 14-kilometre-long (8.7 mi) section between Horná Streda - Nové Mesto nad Váhom opened in half-profile as a D61 in 1998, and was finished as the motorway D1 in full profile in 2000. A 15.3-kilometre-long (9.5 mi) section between Nové Mesto nad Váhom - Chocholná also opened in half-profile as a D61 in 1998, and was subsequently finished as the D1 in full profile in 2000.^[6]

The 3.2-kilometre-long (2.0 mi) section of motorway in Bratislava did not begin until 20 March 2003. The construction was handed over for early use on 4 December 2005, while the gradual finishing works on the footbridges continued until June 2006. The total construction costs amounted to 1.908 billion SKK.^[6]

The section between Hričovské Podhradie - Lietavská Lúčka forms the first part of the southern bypass of Žilina and includes the Ovčiarsko and Žilina tunnels. The construction of the section began with the excavation of the exploratory tunnel of the Ovčiarsko tunnel back in 1996. After the completion of the exploratory tunnel, further construction of the section was postponed. Construction work has continued only since 2014. The contractual completion date was January 2018. This deadline could not be met and the section was not handed over for use until 29 January 2021.^[8] This section was financed through the European Union budget.^[9]

Section at Prešov was opened in late 2021. That also includes the Prešov tunnel with 2240 meters of length.^[10]

The section between Lietavská Lúčka and Dubná Skala, whose exploration tunnel works are dating back to 1998, but actual construction started in 2015, was opened on December 22, 2025. The Višnové tunnel is included within the section and after the opening, it became the longest tunnel on the motorway.^[11]

This is a list of bridges and viaducts as seen when moving from west to east:

There are total of twelve tunnels on the D1, of which eight are in operation. One of them is currently under construction, the Čebrať tunnel, which is planned to open in 2026.^[16] Planned tunnels include the Korbieľka tunnel and the Havran tunnel. The Dargov tunnel might not be built in the future due to studies that found a more efficient route without the tunnel.^[17] The use of tunnels comes included with the vignette.

This is a list of tunnels as seen when moving from west to east:

• 
  D1 motorway near Dubnica nad Váhom
• 
  D1 motorway exit Považská Bystrica
• 
  Junction Beluša
• 
  D1 near Sverepec
• 
  opening of the D1 motorway viaduct in Považská Bystrica
• 
  opening of the D1 motorway viaduct in Považská Bystrica
• 
  opening of the D1 motorway viaduct in Považská Bystrica
• 
  The D1 R4 intersection in Prešov west
• 
  The D1 with 4 lanes on the 17th kilometer

• Motorway D61

• Exit list of Highway D1 (in English)
• National Motorway Company (in Slovak)