The man wears craftsmen’s gear. Apparently he’s on his way home. And he’s pissed off. He jumps out of the car and stands in front of the police officers who are standing on the green strip on Garmischer Strasse. tunnel closure? On the middle ring? Because of G7? “A joke,” exclaims the man, who is clearly unable to laugh at all.
The hundred or so officers who block, search, check and release the tunnels on the Mittlerer Ring in Munich all night long are also serious. Because in an emergency, if the weather should prevent helicopter flights in the next few days, state carriages and police escorts will rush through these tunnels in the direction of Garmisch. The eight summit participants and their delegations, the delegations from the five host countries based in Munich, and the representatives of international organizations. There must not be the slightest safety risk on the route.
That is why the tunnel tubes are searched, if necessary with lifting platforms that the city of Munich has brought in. And with explosives detection dogs like the nine-and-a-half-year-old Belgian shepherd “Dark”, who on Thursday evening shortly after 9 p.m. started sniffing every rescue niche, every emergency phone booth and every fuse box in the tube of the Luise-Kiesselbach tunnel leading towards the Garmisch Autobahn . If he does not strike, which everyone involved hopes for, the object is sealed. And on we go to the next potential danger point.
Anyone who usually drives through the tunnel in Munich’s Westpark at a speed of 50 has little idea how many dark corners, little doors and passageways there are in the concrete tube. Likewise in the Petuel Tunnel and in the underground part of Landshuter Allee as well as in the Leuchtenberg Tunnel in the east of Munich. Even if the exact routes of possible transit trips to Elmau remain a secret like so many things these days – you don’t need a lot of imagination to imagine the possible routes out of the city into the Werdenfelser Land.
Every rescue niche, every emergency phone booth, every fuse box was examined by an explosives-sniffing dog.
(Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa)
Not only the Luise-Kisselbach-Tunnel was examined, also the Petuel- and the Leuchtenberg-Tunnel were affected.
(Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa)
In the end, the weather decides whether this will happen at all. What is certain, however, is that commuter traffic will start again on Friday morning, Elmau or summits. How important the underground tubes are for traffic in the state capital is already evident at night. Although it is now after 10 p.m., traffic jams form on the Mittlerer Ring and on the Lindau Autobahn, which runs in from the west. At 6 a.m., the last tunnel tube must be freely passable again, which is the requirement of the operations center.
After that, only pale blue police seals on doors and little doors, barely visible when driving past, will remind of the nightly security check. Search dog “Dark” will then lie on his blanket at home and recover from the nightly cobweb torture to which his nose was exposed. And it is to be hoped that the anger of the man in the workman’s overalls about the tunnel closure will have given way to anticipation of the sunny weekend.
What restrictions are to be expected at the weekend
However, this will have a few more inconveniences in store for the people of Munich. Numerous no-stopping zones were also set up until Tuesday at 10 p.m. for transfer and pilotage by the police with summit participants and guests, but also for the large-scale demonstrations on Friday and Saturday. On Friday evening, the “Fridays for Future” initiative is expecting around 1,000 participants for its demonstration, which begins at 5 p.m. on Odeonsplatz.
At the Saturday the largest demonstration in connection with the G-7 summit will take place in downtown Munich from 12 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Between 20,000 and 40,000 participants are expected. After an opening rally on the Theresienwiese at 12 p.m., the demonstration march will take the route Pocci-, Lindwurm-, Herzog-Heinrich-Straße, Kaiser-Ludwig-Platz, Herzog-Heinrich-, Paul-Heyse-, Schwanthaler-, Sonnenstraße, Sendlinger-Tor -Platz, Lindwurmstrasse and Poccistrasse back to Theresienwiese.
But not only in Munich – aggravated by numerous open-air events, including in the Olympic Park and on the Königsplatz – there will be massive traffic obstructions. The roads between the city and the airport and to the south will also be repeatedly blocked until Tuesday, especially the Garmisch Autobahn and its alternative routes, such as federal roads 2, 11 and 13.
At the Sunday meet the summit participants. In the evening there will also be a reception in the Munich Residence. At the Monday the police have to escort the guests staying in Munich from other countries to Elmau and back again. And on Tuesday the G-7 heads of state and government depart again. In good weather, many of these dozens of plane and helicopter transfers can be handled – but not all.
The urgent Council of the Munich Police: Leave the car at home (and be careful not to do this while there is a temporary no-stopping zone). And then use public transport – even if you don’t want to go to the demo, but to the “Munich Mash” or the “Fantastic Four”.