Status: 25/09/2023, 19:03 p.m.
By: Maximilian Gang
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The A44 is renamed and is now called A448, the work is already underway. But why is the east-west connection in NRW getting a new name?
Bochum – A new motorway name on the traffic signs will cause astonishment among some motorists in North Rhine-Westphalia in the future. For decades, people have known the section of motorway between Bochum, Witten and Dortmund as the A44. But now the route is being renamed the A448, and new traffic signs are already being installed. "This will be a change for people for the time being," says Nicola Santen of Autobahn Westfalen GmbH. The new name has to do with the history of the A44.
The A44 becomes the A448: The name change on an important motorway in North Rhine-Westphalia has historical reasons
The A44 is an important east-west connection in North Rhine-Westphalia, but its construction has only been partially implemented. One of these sections runs from the Bochum/Witten motorway junction (A43) to the Dortmund/Witten junction (A45). "With the expansion of the so-called 'Bochumer Ring', the southern bypass of the city, the new A448 was created. This section leads from the Bochum/Witten junction to the A40 and thus leads the A44 further west," says Autobahn Westfalen GmbH.
But why the renaming? "The route from Dortmund to Bochum's Westkreuz does not have the character of a major federal motorway," explains Santen. "Instead, it will be considered an important regional highway in the future." And these are not numbered in two digits, but in three digits.
In the future, the A44 between Bochum, Witten and Dortmund will be called A448. © Autobahn Westfalen GmbH
Work on the signs began back in August. Currently, the gantries and the signs at the edge of the road are being replaced at the same time. In order to burden motorists as little as possible, the installation of the new signs will be carried out at night, because lanes must be closed for this purpose. Next year, the work should be completed. (mg)
