BeforeWorld War I, there were few isolated routes suitable for transit traffic e.g. present dayA12 highway, connectingRiga withKaliningrad, or present dayA6 highway which was part of highwayWarsaw–Saint Petersburg that ran throughKaunas. After Lithuania became an independent country in 1918, there was increased demand for new highways for inner needs. First long-distance highways built exclusively by the Lithuanian government were opened in the late 1930s. These are following:
Samogitian highway – old highway built in the 1930s, connecting Kaunas and Klaipėda. Road section between Kaunas andAriogala is now completely refurbished tomotorway, and the road section from Ariogala to Klaipėda is serving as alternative road for a parallelly-builtA1 motorway and connects local towns such as Ariogala,Raseiniai andRietavas.
Aukštaitian highway – old highway built in the 1930s. It connects Kaunas,Kėdainiai,Panevėžys andBiržai to Riga. After building an original route, new routes were built through the course of Soviet Union and after its dissolution. The road was gradually rerouted to avoid larger urban areas, and now runs fromSitkūnai, bypasses Kėdainiai, Panevėžys,Pasvalys, Biržai, and reaches Latvian border to Riga. Rerouted highway is now part ofVia Baltica.
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