NRW wants to build motorway bridges faster: ten-point plan

Created: 01/14/2022, 17:52

Ina Brandes (CDU), Minister of Transport in North Rhine-Westphalia, speaks.

© David Young/dpa/archive image

In North Rhine-Westphalia, the renovation and new construction of motorway bridges such as the dilapidated Rahmede structure on the A45 near Lüdenscheid are to be accelerated.

Transport Minister Ina Brandes (CDU) presented a ten-point plan with demands on the federal government on Friday.

The aim is to become faster in the planning, approval and construction of transport infrastructure.

Düsseldorf - Here the investment backlog in the densely populated industrial and transit state of North Rhine-Westphalia must be resolved.

It is all the more important to make rapid progress, especially with the attacked bridges, which are the responsibility of the federal Autobahn GmbH. The new plan could also create the conditions for the necessary replacement of the Rahmede viaduct to be realizable without a new planning approval, said the minister. In the case of replacement new buildings, a renewed environmental impact assessment should also be dispensed with without exception. The damaged valley bridge on the important north-south motorway axis is currently occupying the federal and state governments. Their closure and a new construction that will probably take years mean a considerable burden for the region.

When asked by dpa, a ministry spokesman explained that the ten-point initiative was aimed at the federal government, which is responsible for the motorways.

NRW is also campaigning for a 300 million euro special fund "Renovation of the NRW motorway bridges" at the Federal Ministry of Transport as a "planning stock".

In addition, according to the plan presented, a special standardized digital process should accelerate planning, approval and construction.

In the future, compliance with or falling short of the agreed construction time should be rewarded, while exceeding it should be punished.

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The construction industry reacted positively.

It is "a strong signal for the region, also to quickly restore the Rahmede viaduct and to ensure mobility in North Rhine-Westphalia," said the general manager of the NRW construction industry association.

This will give an important impetus for bridge construction and to prevent traffic collapse in Germany, the federal association praised.

dpa