Status: 15.01.2024, 13:05 PM
By: Oliver Schmitz
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At the end of January, the A1 Rhine bridge in Leverkusen will be completely closed to motorists. As a result, all traffic has to be diverted. There is a risk of a lot of traffic jams.
Cologne/Leverkusen – Right at the start of 2024, North Rhine-Westphalia is facing one of the biggest motorway closures of the year. From 19 January to 4 February, the Leverkusen Rhine bridge on the A1 will be completely closed in both directions. For more than two weeks, no car, truck or motorcyclist will be able to use the A1 motorway between Cologne and Leverkusen. And the A59, which connects to it, also remains closed for weeks. As a result, many commuters have to take long detours to cross the Rhine – with consequences for traffic, possibly throughout the Rhineland. This is because other motorway sections are likely to become much more crowded.
Full closure of the Rhine bridge in Leverkusen: Where the A1 and A59 are closed and there is a risk of traffic jams
Even without the full closure of the A1 Rhine bridge in Leverkusen, there is a lot of traffic jam around Cologne during rush hour. © Funke Foto Services/Imago
- A1 between the Cologne-Niehl junction and the Leverkusen junction: The section of motorway directly over the Leverkusen Rhine bridge will be completely closed in both directions from 19 January to 4 February.
- A1 between the Cologne-Nord junction and the Cologne-Niehl junction: The motorway section in the north of Cologne will be completely closed in both directions immediately at the start of the work on 19 January (22 p.m.). However, as of January 22 at 5 a.m., one lane will be available again for both directions.
- A59 between the Monheim-Süd junction and Leverkusen's Rheinallee: The A1 adjacent to the A59 will remain completely closed in both directions from 19 January to 4 February during the work on the Cologne-Leverkusen Rhine bridge. The closure will be in effect from 20 p.m.
After the first section of the new Rhine bridge in Leverkusen was completed at the end of 2023, the official opening is now scheduled for February 4, 2024. Until then, some important work still needs to be carried out, especially to divert A1 traffic from the old Rhine bridge. As a result, several sections of the A1 and A59 near Cologne and Leverkusen have to be completely closed. This has a massive impact on traffic in the Rhineland. Every day, as many as 100,000 vehicles use the structure above the Rhine, which now have to switch to other motorways to cross the river.
Autobahn GmbH had announced that the aim was to "keep the impact of the work on the A1 Rhine bridge as low as possible" for both motorists and residents. But it is already foreseeable in advance that the full closure will cause a lot of traffic jams on the nearby motorways. The reason: The two nearest Rhine bridges are a good 20 to 30 kilometres away by car. Since the detours also run through it, some commuters have to take long detours. As a result, the surrounding motorways near Cologne, Leverkusen – but also beyond – become much more crowded. Especially during rush hours, this is likely to be noticeable in the form of longer delays for motorists.
How A1 and A59 traffic will be diverted during the closure of the Rhine bridge in Leverkusen
- A1 in the direction of Koblenz/Trier: Traffic will be diverted from the Leverkusen junction via the A3 in the direction of Frankfurt and from the Heumar junction via the A4 in the direction of Aachen.
- A1 in the direction of Dortmund: The detour runs from the Köln-Nord junction via the A1 in the direction of Koblenz to the Köln-West junction. Here the detour continues on the A4 in the direction of Olpe and from the Heumar junction then on the A3 in the direction of Oberhausen.
- A59 in the direction of Leverkusen: It will be diverted via the A542 in the direction of Langenfeld. At the Langenfeld junction, take the A3 in the direction of Frankfurt to the Leverkusen-Zentrum junction.
- A59 slip road at Rheinallee: There is an inner-city detour (U11), which is marked with yellow signs. It leads via Rheinallee, Titanstraße and Willy-Brandt-Ring to the Leverkusen-Zentrum junction. From the B8, the U11 will also be diverted from both directions to the Willy-Brandt-Ring.
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For the closed A1 Rhine bridge in Leverkusen, there are extensive diversion routes via the A4 Rhine bridge in Cologne-Rodenkirchen, © Autobahn GmbH
What motorway closures are currently in place in NRW?
Every week, a number of motorways in North Rhine-Westphalia are closed to traffic – sometimes for days. 24RHEIN shows which motorway closures are currently in place in NRW and which ones are coming soon. In addition, numerous construction sites are planned on the motorways in NRW in 2024, which will cause a risk of congestion.
In order to keep the risk of congestion around the Leverkusen Rhine bridge as low as possible, the A1 full closure is already being pointed out "in a large radius", for example in front of the Wuppertal-Nord junction, according to Autobahn GmbH. The diversions run over the Cologne-Rodenkirchen Rhine bridge (A4) to the south. For some motorists, the Rhine bridge Düsseldorf-Flehe (A46) is also an alternative. Long-distance traffic is generally advised to "avoid the area of the closed Rhine bridge in Leverkusen as far as possible" and to look for alternative routes. (os)