Refurbishment traffic jam at Autobahnbrücken: Government misses your goals!

Refurbishment traffic jam at Autobahnbrücken: Government misses your goals!

The dilapidated infrastructure in Germany is an increasing challenge, especially in the area of the motorway bridges. Last year, 212 part of the bridge was modernized nationwide, which, however, did not meet the target brand of the outgoing federal government in the renovation. This emerges from a response from the government to a request from Greens MP Julia Verlinden, which indicates the need for comprehensive renovation. The necessary financial resources and political support are crucial to improve the infrastructure and to regain the trust of the users. bnn.de reports that the Federal Government has presented a program in which 4,000 of 28,000 Autobahnbrücken is to be renewed primarily, with a target of 400 bridges per year.

Recently, the ring railway bridge in western Berlin was demolished for security reasons; S-Bahn traffic under the bridge was also discontinued. This is just one of many examples that show the urgent need for action. For example, Verlinden refers to the collapsed carol bridge in Dresden and the closure of the A100 bridge in Berlin and calls for a construction break for new highways to accelerate the renovation work. Autobahn GmbH of the federal government is also planning to increase the number of necessary plans for modernization, but requires sufficient financing.

Current challenges of bridge infrastructure

construction experts describe many motorway bridges in Germany as needed. An analysis shows that 43 motorway bridges with more than 50 meters in length have an "insufficient" state, which affects both stability and traffic safety. Marco Götze, chairman of the federal approval community, therefore calls for immediate political action to maintain the infrastructure. According to Tagesschau.de , around 55% of the approximately 40,000 motorway and federal roads-bridges were built before 1985 and thus arrived at the end of their life cycle.

The increasing stress due to goods and heavy goods traffic contributes to the deterioration of the condition of these bridges. In the meantime, the domestic freight transport has risen by 74% on the street, rail and water from 1991 to 2022. Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing has given the goal of renovating 400 bridges annually. An example of this is the Rahmede motorway bridge on the A45, which was blocked and blown up due to considerable damage; A new building is already planned.

Future of the bridge renovation

The modernization of 4,000 bridges is top priority, which corresponds to an area of 3.2 million square meters. By the end of 2024, over 980,000 square meters of bridge area are to be modernized, which corresponds to around 30% of the total area in the first step. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether the necessary financial resources can be provided in order to put these far -reaching plans into practice. Politicians like Julia Verlinden warn of the consequences of further delayed renovation work and call for a clear prioritization of infrastructure measures in the household and special funds.