It starts at the Dutch-German border near the community of Niederkrüchten, district of Viersen.

Its westernmost part serves as an important commuter route into Düsseldorf.

The autobahn becomes Bundesstraße 7 shortly before the Rheinkniebrücke, which leads into the Düsseldorf city centre.

The autobahn has three parts: A new connection from the Dutch border to Elmpt opened in May 2009.

[1] An extension connecting the interchange Essen-Ost with the interchange Gladbeck has been proposed for several years but has not been built yet due to the need for several kilometers of tunnels below densely populated areas.