A first study was commissioned before the Nazi era and had the title HaFraBa (motorway Hanseatic cities-Frankfurt-Basel).

After the annexation of Austria to the German Reich in 1939, another highway study was commissioned, which provided for a connection from Wangen im Allgäu to Feldkirch.

On October 29, 1965, ground was broken for the construction of the first section of the Rheintal Autobahn from Dornbirn Nord to Götzis Straßenhäuser.

The geological subsurface of this construction phase, in particular at Dornbirn-Nord, is unstable to this day and requires frequent adjustments and improvements.

[3] Only in 1973, after several years of preparation and uncertainty, did the planning of the Pfändertunnel begin as another important part of the new motorway.

With the Arlbergschnellstraße (S 16) there was thus a direct road connection from the German border near Hörbranz to the neighboring state of Tyrol, but only two lanes with oncoming traffic in the area of the two large tunnels.

As a result of the massive increase in traffic in the 1980s and 1990s, plans for the second tube of the Amberg Tunnel began before the turn of the millennium.

Finally, in the summer of 2004, the original tube, which had been in existence since 1985, was completely refurbished and adapted for one-way operation.

Temporarily, all guide books telling drivers to leave the motorway at Dornbirn Süd, were wrong.