Traffic jam hell Elbtunnel: Who can still get to Hamburg in time?

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Find out the latest information about traffic jams and closures at the Elbe Tunnel in Hamburg, the most important transport route in northern Germany.

Erfahren Sie Aktuelles über Staus und Sperrungen am Elbtunnel in Hamburg, den wichtigsten Verkehrsweg Norddeutschlands.
Find out the latest information about traffic jams and closures at the Elbe Tunnel in Hamburg, the most important transport route in northern Germany.

Traffic jam hell Elbtunnel: Who can still get to Hamburg in time?

What's new from Hamburg? The Elbe Tunnel remains a key concern for many drivers, especially those who drive through the northern state every day. With over 120,000 vehicles passing through this almost 3,400 meter long tunnel every day, it is one of the busiest transport hubs in all of Germany. It is precisely the combination of holiday traffic, commuters and freight transport that makes the Elbe Tunnel a bottleneck Travel reporter reported.

Typical traffic jam times that every driver knows well are between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. in the north in the morning and from 3 p.m. in the south in the afternoon. Especially on Fridays and Saturdays, especially during the holidays, the delays increase immeasurably. But backlogs don't just occur during typical peak times; construction sites and accidents are also a common nuisance.

Planned closures and their effects

But that's not all: how ADAC reports, several full closures are planned for the Elbe Tunnel this year. A closure from September 26th to 29th in particular will require some detours. These closures each last 55 hours and are necessary for installation work on new traffic sign gantries and software updates for the traffic computer in the tunnel.

For traffic this means: detours are announced, whether heading north or south - replanning is unavoidable. Travelers traveling to Hamburg Airport from the south should allow more time or prefer to use public transport to avoid unnecessary waiting times.

Traffic jam statistics and developments

A reference to the general traffic jam situation in Germany: How ZDF Today reported that traffic jam times increased to 448,000 hours last year. Motorway users were stuck in traffic jams for an average of 43 hours. The A7 and the surrounding area of ​​Hamburg in particular are among the most congested regions in the country.

North Rhine-Westphalia alone records 31.5 percent of the total kilometers of traffic jams in Germany, while with an average of 69 hours of traffic jams per kilometer of motorway, times are by no means rosy in our state. The number of construction sites and the persistently high traffic load also contribute to this.

In summary, anyone who has to go through the Elbe Tunnel should prepare well in order to avoid the traffic jams and closures. A little flexibility can be worth its weight in gold here - and maybe it's time to switch to other means of transport or simply use the time to explore the surrounding area a little more.