The bridge on the A 45 in NRW, which is important throughout Germany, has paralyzed an entire region for more than a year. Now the long-awaited date for the demolition has been set. A committee of inquiry in the state parliament is to clarify the disaster. It is unclear when traffic will resume.
The dilapidated Rahmede viaduct on the nationally important Autobahn 45 near Lüdenscheid is to be blown up on May 7th. This was announced by Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) in Berlin. The structure was closed in December 2021, and a central north-south axis (Frankfurt-Dortmund) has since been interrupted. The consequences for the region are serious.
Wissing had originally announced a demolition in 2022, but that did not happen. May 7th is now set as the new date. Wissing spoke of important and good news for the region. Since December 2, 2021, the 450 meter long and more than 70 meter high motorway bridge of the so-called Sauerland Line has been completely closed.
Every day, around 20,000 additional vehicles, including around 6,000 trucks, drive through Lüdenscheid via detour routes. Residents and companies in the region are heavily burdened by noise, exhaust fumes and permanent traffic jams. They have also been hit hard by supply problems, slumps in sales and labor migration. A blasting date was expected with excitement and growing impatience, especially in North Rhine-Westphalia. Wissing said that he could not currently name a binding construction time, i.e. could not specifically predict when traffic would roll again. But: The federal government will do everything to ensure that the new building is completed as quickly as possible.
Blasting in steep terrain is considered a formidable challenge. The preparations under the bridge, including tree felling and slope protection, have been going on for some time. Several plots of land under the building had also been bought. The contract for demolition blasting was awarded to Heitkamp Umwelttechnik in October. The pillars should buckle to the side during the blast, and the bridge should fall down horizontally.
Opposition in NRW requests U-committee to close the bridge
The disaster surrounding the closure of the dilapidated valley bridge is to be dealt with in the state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia. According to a spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, the opposition factions of the SPD and FDP also decided this Tuesday to apply for the establishment of a committee of inquiry. The committee should also deal with the bridge infrastructure in North Rhine-Westphalia. The state parliament is expected to vote on the appointment decision in the plenary session in March.
Today’s Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst (CDU), was NRW Minister of Transport from 2017 to October 2021. Among other things, the opposition wants to find out whether Wüst is responsible for the traffic disaster. Wüst had denied personal failings from his tenure as minister.
The SPD and FDP parliamentary groups far exceed the quorum required for setting up the committee of inquiry by one fifth of the members of the state parliament. The appointment of the committee is therefore considered certain. The AfD had already applied for a sub-committee on the Rahmede Viaduct.