It was the event of the day – in the Sauerland certainly bigger than the coronation on Saturday in London: the demolition of the Rahmede viaduct on the Autobahn 45, which was up to 70 meters high, a good 450 meters long and weighed 17,000 tons, on Sunday afternoon in the Sauerland. Around 150 kilograms of explosives had previously been attached to the bridge piers in 2035 boreholes.
The structure was blown up at 12 noon and fell into a massive fall bed of 100,000 cubic meters of earth. The result was then checked. According to Autobahn GmbH, the blasting area in Lüdenscheid in North Rhine-Westphalia was previously cordoned off for safety reasons in a radius of around 300 meters. Around 110 barrier posts were set up. The houses located directly on the bridge were secured with sea containers as a buffer wall. So that the population could still experience the blasting spectacle, there were live broadcasts on TV. In Lüdenscheid there was even a larger public viewing with a stage program in the city centre, where the celebrations continued after the blast.
Rahmedetal Bridge has been fully closed since 2021
The bridge had been completely closed since December 2, 2021, and the important north-south axis from Frankfurt to Dortmund was interrupted. The consequences are serious. Above all, Lüdenscheid and the entire region suffer from traffic jam chaos, noise and exhaust emissions, slow delivery traffic, emigration of skilled workers and loss of sales. According to the Federal Ministry of Transport, top priority is given to rebuilding the bridge as quickly as possible.
For the people who are severely affected by the existing full bridge closure, the demolition means “a first visible sign of progress after 17 months of standstill,” said the spokesman for the A45 Lüdenscheid citizens’ initiative, Heiko Schürfeld, of the German Press Agency shortly before the nationwide action. “For us, however, today is not a day to celebrate, because the problems in the region have not been solved with the blown up bridge.”
You can read more about the problems addressed at stern+:
The spokesman emphasized: “The burdens on citizens, companies and especially the health burdens on direct residents continue unabated.” There is therefore a need for a ban on the passage of heavy trucks, thousands of which thunder through Lüdenscheid on the detour routes every day. “Furthermore, we are calling on politicians to finally act together, to create the legal basis for further rapid bridge projects and to push ahead with the construction of the new bridge effectively and quickly.”