Farchanter Tunnel, Oberauer Tunnel, Kramer Tunnel, Auerberg Tunnel: They are finished, are currently or will certainly be built in the next few years.
The Wanktunnel is still missing in the overall traffic relief project for Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Those responsible also take care of that.
Its a lot to do.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
- The call is loud for the Wanktunnel, and that is understandable.
Only with this fifth tunnel in the Loisachtal would the overall traffic relief project, in which the Auerberg tunnel also plays an important role, be complete.
As much as everyone involved is aware of this, one thing is for sure: there is still a lot to be done before this last component is implemented.
Alexander Dobrindt's (CSU) words of “maximum acceptance” for the project in order to be able to build the tunnel quickly resonate particularly well.
But where is the project at all?
How far has it progressed?
At the round table in Garmisch-Partenkirchen there were answers to these questions from Nadine Heiss from the state building authority.
The department head for the district began her excursion with a role backwards.
The curiosity about the Wanktunnel is that the plans for the bypass were drawn up exactly nine years ago.
In the course of the Olympic application, the process really got under way.
“In 2011 we had a completed preliminary draft,” he recalls.
But the day the Olympic vote was negative, the project was put on hold.
"It was simply no longer foreseeable that it would be financed."
Wanktunnel: Plans from 2011 have to be revised
The restart took place in 2016. Under Dobrindt's direction as the then Federal Transport Minister of the CSU, the Wanktunnel came back into urgent need.
Get your plans out of the drawer and go on - but it doesn't work that easily.
"There have been a number of new regulations in the years after 2011," explains Heiß.
For the state building authority this meant: All documents had to be revised.
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The north portal of the possible Wanktunnel: This variant at the entrance to Partenkirchen takes up little space.
© Staatliches Bauamt Weilheim
This process is currently still ongoing.
The traffic report was renewed in 2018, and a complete new mapping from a nature conservation point of view took place.
The review of the technical plans began in 2019.
“Now we are in the phase of a detailed preliminary investigation and examination of the variant decision,” he emphasizes.
However, there are not too many alternatives at the junctions in the north and south between the 3.5-kilometer two-lane tube.
At the entrance to Partenkirchen, variant 1 (see photo) will come into play.
In the south, the project developers want to do without a roundabout in order to minimize the risk of wrong-way drivers.
“We don't have a lot of leeway because of the topography,” says Heiss.
An important aspect: "We do not want to affect the humpback meadows."
Wanktunnel: A lot of expert reports are still required
At first glance, the planning seems to be far advanced, but he is holding back any hasty hopes.
“A lot of expert opinions are still required.” For example, for noise, immissions or tunnel ventilation.
The detailed road planning must also be clarified.
This includes setting up the construction sites and traffic management during the construction period.
A central point is a third drilling campaign, which has been commissioned for 2021 to research the geology in more detail.
The experts at Wank are currently not counting on a pronounced water issue like on the Kramer.
Once the cost estimate has been made, the preliminary draft can be submitted to the federal and state governments for approval before the plan approval procedure is due.
The next steps would be the acquisition of land, tendering and awarding, construction work and the opening to traffic.
Analysis of 2018: 31,000 vehicles daily on average on B2 in Partenkirchen
Based on the values of the traffic report from 2018, he and Co. discussed the benefits of the project.
According to the 2018 analysis, an average of around 31,000 vehicles per day drive on the B2 in the Partenkirchen district.
18,000 of them arrive at the southern end of the village.
In forecasts up to 2035, these numbers increase by 2000 - without the Wanktunnel.
According to the building authority, the bypass will be interesting for around 15,000 vehicles on average.
Thus, the inner-city traffic is halved.
“He's not gone then,” he emphasizes.
And Mayor Elisabeth Koch (CSU) adds: "The B2 will not become a walkway." Nevertheless, a 50 percent reduction would be "a considerable relief," explains Dobrindt.
“The market town is attractive and has a lot of its own target traffic.” In comparison: the Kramer tunnel relieves the Garmisch district by around 40 percent.
However, it will hit the people of Kaltenbrunn, who have to reckon with a higher volume of traffic.
The district is 2.5 kilometers from the south portal of the tunnel.
The experts expect around 2000 more vehicles per day.
Stephan Christoph represented the citizens at the meeting in the town hall, who have come together in an initiative called “Citizens for Kaltenbrunn”.
“We are already far above the Bavarian average in terms of load,” he notes.
"As citizens of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, we are in favor of the tunnels, but we don't want to be the first bottleneck in the direction of Munich in the future."
The first action will be an on-site meeting with all authorities in the coming weeks to discuss the situation. The aim is to improve the residents there - regardless of the tunnel construction.