Traffic
New A1 Rhine bridge released
The first vehicles drive over the new Leverkusen bridge. photo
© Henning Kaiser/dpa
For the first time in ten years, heavy trucks are allowed to cross the Rhine near Leverkusen again. After the opening of the new motorway bridge, experts expect the traffic jam situation around Cologne to improve.
After years of construction, the new Leverkusen A1 Rhine Bridge is open on Sunday traffic has been opened. The first vehicles crossed the bridge around 3:30 p.m. In the future, vehicles will be able to roll over the new structure in three narrowed lanes. For the first time in ten years, heavy trucks are allowed to cross the Rhine again at this point. The A1 between the Leverkusen junction and Cologne-Nord was recently closed for two weeks in order to connect the new bridge section to the transport network.
In 2012, experts discovered cracks in the old bridge, which dates back to the 1960s. Speed and weight restrictions were then introduced, and since 2014 the bridge has been closed to trucks weighing 3.5 tons or more – to prevent their access, barriers were installed two years later. Construction of the new bridge began in 2017, which will be made up of two parallel parts. The first half is now finished. Next, the old bridge will be demolished before the second partial bridge is built on the same site. According to Autobahn GmbH’s plans, everything should be finished in 2027.
ADAC: Significant time savings for truck drivers
After the release of the first section, experts expect a reduction in traffic jams around Cologne and Leverkusen. However, due to the long-standing bridge closure for trucks, it is difficult to predict what proportion of heavy goods traffic will shift back to the A1 and how the traffic volume will be distributed on the Cologne motorway ring, explained Autobahn GmbH.
“The traffic situation on the motorways in the greater Cologne area could ease somewhat again,” said ADAC traffic expert Roman Suthold.
Information about the Leverkusen Rhine Bridge