Does the Weilheim bypass fly out of the federal plan?

Green politicians mobilize

Created: 02/09/2022, 06:00

By: Magnus Reitinger

An “east tunnel” was examined as the latest variant of a possible Weilheim bypass.

© State Building Authority Weilheim

According to the coalition agreement of the new federal government, numerous road projects are to be put to the test.

The Greens are fighting behind and in front of the scenes to ensure that the planned Weilheim bypass and the B2 expansion near Wielenbach are fundamentally questioned.

Weilheim

– Leon Eckert has been a member of the Bundestag for Alliance 90/The Greens since October.

And for the 26-year-old from the constituency of Freising, one thing is certain: the planned Weilheim bypass and the expansion plans for the B2 near Wielenbach "represent a bad solution for many citizens in the Weilheim area".

As a deputy member of the Bundestag's Transport Committee, Eckert announced in a press release that he would "closely monitor the expansion of the B2 in Weilheim during the needs plan review of the Federal Transport Route Plan".

Green MdB Leon Eckert considers the Weilheim bypass and the B2 expansion to be bad solutions: "It can happen that citizens end up having to endure more traffic instead of the promised traffic reduction." © Die Grünen/Kaminski

CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt also considers it conceivable that the Weilheim bypass could be removed from the Federal Transport Route Plan (BVWP) 2030.

He himself, then Federal Transport Minister, fought for the bypass project to be listed as “urgent need” in the BVWP that was decided in 2016.

This means that the project is currently still part of federal policy.

"The new government has already announced that it intends to revise the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan before it expires, even though it is legally binding in the Law Gazette," says Dobrindt: "I would advise the Federal Transport Minister not to approach the dispute about projects that are already being planned with us."

Advice from Alexander Dobrindt

For the Green MEP Eckert, the project "Bypass Weilheim" must be put to the test.

"The plans for the routes leave open a noise reduction to protect the residents and at the same time fuel the fear that an alternative route for the A95 Munich - Garmisch-Partenkirchen could be created here," writes the MdB in a joint press release with the local Greens association in Weilheim: " So it can happen that the citizens end up having to endure more traffic instead of the promised traffic reduction.

I want to take these legitimate doubts from Weilheim to Berlin.”

Weilheim's traffic officer hopes for a "reassessment"

According to Manuel Neulinger, spokesman for the Greens parliamentary group and transport officer for the Weilheim city council, the local association brought the subject of the Weilheim bypass to several Greens representatives at state and federal level.

Neulinger points out that according to the federal government's coalition agreement, transport projects should be reviewed - "including those that are in the federal transport route plan".

Different Green politicians would have divided the topics.

Since there are no Bavarian Greens on the Bundestag Transport Committee, Leon Eckert feels “particularly responsible” as a deputy member.

But there are also talks with other federal politicians.

Manuel Neulinger, spokesman for the Greens and transport officer on the Weilheim city council, hopes “that we can once again achieve a reassessment of the bypass project in the federal transport route plan”.

© Gronau

Neulinger hopes "that we can achieve a reassessment of the bypass project in the Federal Transport Route Plan".

It is important to put the intervention in the landscape and the additional burdens in relation to the expected benefit "and also to evaluate the climate effects of such buildings again differently.

“There are climate-friendly and cheaper options”

"Instead of spending millions on routes, there are climate-friendly and cheaper ways to effectively reduce local traffic," emphasizes MdB Eckert.

The coalition agreement prefers "the expansion of the railways to the expansion of the roads" and it is clear "that in the future transport must also contribute to achieving the 1.5 degree target of the Paris climate protection agreement".

Consequently, one must "put the existing road planning to the test," said the Green federal politician - "and that includes the B2".

Also read:

Violent dispute about the old bypass route