Four and a half years after the groundbreaking ceremony, a project of the century is about to be completed: On Saturday, November 20, traffic is to roll over the Echelsbacher Bridge again.
A community festival is planned.
Rottenbuch
- Cars and trucks are still rumbling over the temporary steel bridge that has spanned the Ammer Gorge in the immediate vicinity of the mammoth construction site since the beginning of the partial reconstruction of the Echelsbacher Bridge. But their services are no longer needed. The completion of the "Golden Gate Bridge of the Oberland", as CSU regional group leader Alexander Dorbrindt proudly described the Echelsbach Bridge at the groundbreaking ceremony in 2017, is approaching with great strides. The big cranes that brought the building material to its destination in recent years have already disappeared. The road on the bridge is already paved, the connection to the district road to Schönberg is ready. The bus parking lot is currently being paved and the last concrete guide walls are being installed on the bridge, says German Abenthum from the State Building Authority."We are in the final trains."
On the other hand, the planning for the citizens' festival, with which the opening to traffic on Saturday, November 20th, is to be celebrated in due style, is still in its infancy.
Because until recently it was not certain whether there would be a major ceremony at all.
Because of Corona, as a precaution, the planning department planned an opening in a small circle with a maximum of 50 invited guests.
When Rottenbuch's mayor, Markus Bader, and his colleagues from Bad Bayersoien and Wildsteig found out about it, however, it was immediately agreed that another solution was needed.
"A celebration in a small group would have been a shame, after all, the Echelsbacher Brücke is a monument in the region," emphasizes Bader.
"The population's interest in the construction work was huge."
Three villages are planning a “bridge festival” - even a march was composed
This is now to be taken into account with a "Bridge Citizens Festival".
A festival committee has already started its work.
Associations from the three villages are to be brought on board for the organization and, among other things, take care of the hospitality and the musical accompaniment.
“There will even be a specially composed bridge march,” reveals Bader.
The idea is of course that visitors can take a close look at the finished structure.
"Citizens should be allowed to stroll on the bridge throughout the day until the official traffic opening," announced the mayor.
All with the reservation, of course, that the corona situation does not put a spanner in the works for such a festival until then.
"As of now, we can approach it with a clear conscience," says Bader, however, optimistically.
State building authority supports citizens' festival plans
The state building authority supports the plans of the three municipalities.
One could of course understand the desire for a citizens' festival.
“The bridge is a big thing in the region,” says Abenthum, who praised the good cooperation with the municipalities in recent years.
For him and his colleagues, the project of the century with the opening of traffic is not yet over.
Finally, the temporary bridge that has done its job has to be dismantled.
“It is high time the coating is already peeling off.” After all, it has held out bravely for years.
