diff --git a/core/includes/batch.inc b/core/includes/batch.inc
index d1902e0..fe34cc6 100644
--- a/core/includes/batch.inc
+++ b/core/includes/batch.inc
@@ -156,7 +156,9 @@ function _batch_progress_page() {
   $batch['url_options']['query']['id'] = $batch['id'];
   $batch['url_options']['query']['op'] = $new_op;
 
-  $url = _url($batch['url'], $batch['url_options']);
+  // Normally, the batch is from from the batch route, except in the case of
+  // some special cases, like the installer.
+  $url = Url::fromPath($batch['url'], $batch['url_options'])->toString();
 
   $build = array(
     '#theme' => 'progress_bar',
diff --git a/core/includes/form.inc b/core/includes/form.inc
index 69c970f..57af95d 100644
--- a/core/includes/form.inc
+++ b/core/includes/form.inc
@@ -793,7 +793,7 @@ function batch_process($redirect = NULL, $url = 'batch', $redirect_callback = NU
     if ($batch['progressive']) {
       // Now that we have a batch id, we can generate the redirection link in
       // the generic error message.
-      $batch['error_message'] = t('Please continue to <a href="@error_url">the error page</a>', array('@error_url' => _url($url, array('query' => array('id' => $batch['id'], 'op' => 'finished')))));
+      $batch['error_message'] = t('Please continue to <a href="@error_url">the error page</a>', array('@error_url' => Url::fromPath($url, array('query' => array('id' => $batch['id'], 'op' => 'finished')))->toString()));
 
       // Clear the way for the redirection to the batch processing page, by
       // saving and unsetting the 'destination', if there is any.
@@ -821,7 +821,7 @@ function batch_process($redirect = NULL, $url = 'batch', $redirect_callback = NU
       }
       else {
         $options['absolute'] = TRUE;
-        return new RedirectResponse(_url($batch['url'], $options));
+        return new RedirectResponse(Url::fromPath($batch['url'],  $options)->toString());
       }
     }
     else {
diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Render/Element/RenderElement.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Render/Element/RenderElement.php
index c0c982a..b6b3ebe 100644
--- a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Render/Element/RenderElement.php
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Render/Element/RenderElement.php
@@ -292,7 +292,7 @@ public static function preRenderAjaxForm($element) {
       }
       // Change progress path to a full URL.
       if (isset($settings['progress']['path'])) {
-        $settings['progress']['url'] = _url($settings['progress']['path']);
+        $settings['progress']['url'] = Url::fromPath($settings['progress']['path'])->toString();
         unset($settings['progress']['path']);
       }
 
diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Url.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Url.php
index 999f447..2637ced 100644
--- a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Url.php
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Url.php
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 namespace Drupal\Core;
 
 use Drupal\Component\Utility\String;
+use Drupal\Component\Utility\UrlHelper;
 use Drupal\Core\DependencyInjection\DependencySerializationTrait;
 use Drupal\Core\Routing\RouteMatchInterface;
 use Drupal\Core\Routing\UrlGeneratorInterface;
@@ -236,6 +237,59 @@ public static function fromUri($uri, $options = array()) {
   }
 
   /**
+   * Creates a new Url object for a path, which may be a Drupal route, an
+   * unroutable local path, or an external URL.
+   *
+   * This method is to be used for generating URLs where the exact source or
+   * type of the path is unknown, such as one coming from user input.  In
+   * general, this method should be avoided in favor of Url::fromRoute() or
+   * Url::fromUri().
+   *
+   * SECURITY NOTE: Drupal route checking will bypass the access check, as
+   * the logic will revert to generating an unroutable Url object if the
+   * path validator is used with the access check.
+   *
+   * @param string $path
+   *   The path to be converted.
+   * @param array $options
+   *   (optional) An associative array of additional URL options, with the
+   *   following elements:
+   *   - 'query': An array of query key/value-pairs (without any URL-encoding)
+   *     to append to the URL. Merged with the parameters array.
+   *   - 'fragment': A fragment identifier (named anchor) to append to the URL.
+   *     Do not include the leading '#' character.
+   *   - 'absolute': Defaults to FALSE. Whether to force the output to be an
+   *     absolute link (beginning with http:). Useful for links that will be
+   *     displayed outside the site, such as in an RSS feed.
+   *   - 'language': An optional language object used to look up the alias
+   *     for the URL. If $options['language'] is omitted, it defaults to the
+   *     current language for the language type LanguageInterface::TYPE_URL.
+   *   - 'https': Whether this URL should point to a secure location. If not
+   *     defined, the current scheme is used, so the user stays on HTTP or HTTPS
+   *     respectively. TRUE enforces HTTPS and FALSE enforces HTTP.
+   *
+   * @return \Drupal\Core\Url
+   *   A new Url object for the path.
+   *
+   * @see static::fromRoute()
+   * @see static::fromUri()
+   */
+  public static function fromPath($path, $options = array()) {
+    if (UrlHelper::isExternal($path) && UrlHelper::isValid($path)) {
+      return static::fromUri($path, $options);
+    }
+
+    $url = \Drupal::pathValidator()->getUrlIfValidWithoutAccessCheck($path);
+    if ($url === FALSE) {
+      return static::fromUri('base://' . $path, $options);
+    }
+
+    $url->setOptions($options);
+
+    return $url;
+  }
+
+  /**
    * Returns the Url object matching a request.
    *
    * SECURITY NOTE: The request path is not checked to be valid and accessible