Future of the Berg border crossing: redesign after 20 years of planning!

Future of the Berg border crossing: redesign after 20 years of planning!

The Berg to Lauterbourg border crossing in France is facing a major redesign that will affect all road users. The project is the result of many years of planning, as solutions have been sought for over 20 years to improve the traffic situation at this intersection of three German traffic arteries and a French road. Residents in the Berg/Neulauterburg district have already suffered from the high volume of traffic, which underlines the urgency for a redesign. The State Office for Mobility (LBM) addressed the citizens of Bergen in the middle of the year and asked for their opinions and suggestions on the upcoming changes, as reported rheinpfalz.de.

While these redevelopment plans get underway, commuters in the border region of Southern Palatinate and Alsace are waiting for new developments at the borders. Starting this week, increased border controls have been announced at the national borders with France, Luxembourg and Belgium for six months, as Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) announced. These controls aim to limit irregular migration, which results in longer waiting times and traffic jams for commuters, especially at the Lauterbourg border crossing. Frequent controls have been observed in this area since the beginning of June, which have been intensified by major sporting events such as the European Football Championships and the Olympic Games. The measures were originally supposed to expire at the end of September, but were extended. Loud swr.de the reactions of local politicians are mixed. Local mayors in the border region are partly concerned, but also recall the challenges during the corona pandemic.

Warning of high costs for shipping companies

The border controls also mean higher costs for the shipping companies, which have to dig into their pockets due to the long waiting times and additional rest periods for the drivers. Christian Claus, managing director of a shipping company, makes it clear that consumers ultimately have to bear these increased costs. This will have a significant impact on the dynamics of international trade and especially cross-border traffic, the media reports.

As part of the discussion about security at the borders, the situation is also explained by the ongoing fears of terrorism and security in Europe. Control measures at the German-French border have been considered routine since June 7, 2024 and were implemented as part of large events. Loud zdf.de The controls on the European Bridge between Strasbourg and Kehl show that security checks are reinforced by checking vehicles and passengers. Suspicious people can be removed from traffic by a second team of police officers.

While some commuters are annoyed by the increasing controls, there are also voices that express some support for these measures for security reasons. It remains to be seen how the situation at the new border crossing in Berg will develop and whether the planned changes to the traffic situation will bring an improvement.