As of: February 4, 2024, 4:17 p.m
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A construction vehicle crosses the bridge before the new Leverkusen bridge opens to traffic.
© Henning Kaiser/dpa
For the first time in ten years, heavy trucks are allowed to cross the Rhine near Leverkusen again.
After the opening of the new motorway bridge, experts expect the traffic jam situation around Cologne to improve.
Leverkusen - After years of construction, the new Leverkusen A1 Rhine bridge was opened to traffic on Sunday.
The first vehicles crossed the bridge around 3:30 p.m.
According to Autobahn GmbH, all junctions should be free again around 8 p.m.
In the future, vehicles will be able to roll over the new structure in three narrowed lanes.
For the first time in ten years, heavy trucks are allowed to cross the Rhine again at this point.
The official opening of the first section of the bridge was attended by, among others, North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU), Parliamentary State Secretary Oliver Luksic from the Federal Ministry of Transport and North Rhine-Westphalia Transport Minister Oliver Krischer (Greens).
“The completion of the first part of the Rhine Bridge is an important milestone for a functioning and resilient transport infrastructure in the Rhineland.
With the release, traffic flows across the entire region will noticeably improve.
This brings long-awaited relief for many commuters and for the entire Rhineland economic region,” said NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst.
Autobahn GmbH: Completion of construction work in 2027
North Rhine-Westphalia's Transport Minister Oliver Krischer also welcomed the release, but expects the bridge to remain a bottleneck until it is finally completed.
The long construction period and the extreme increase in costs have already shown “the challenges we face if we want to maintain the transport infrastructure in Germany and North Rhine-Westphalia and make it fit for the future,” said Krischer.
The A1 between the Leverkusen junction and Cologne-Nord was recently closed for two weeks in order to connect the new bridge section to the transport network.
Drivers had to take detours and endure long traffic jams, especially during rush hour.
In 2012, experts discovered cracks in the old bridge, which dates back to the 1960s.
Speed and weight restrictions were then introduced, and since 2014 the bridge has been closed to trucks weighing 3.5 tons or more - to prevent their access, barriers were installed two years later.
Construction of the new bridge began in 2017, which will be made up of two parallel parts.
The first half is now finished.
Next, the old bridge will be demolished before the second partial bridge is built on the same site.
According to Autobahn GmbH's plans, everything should be finished in 2027.
ADAC: Significant time savings for truck drivers
After the release of the first section on Sunday, experts expect a reduction in traffic jams around Cologne and Leverkusen.
However, due to the long-standing bridge closure for trucks, it is difficult to predict what proportion of heavy goods traffic will shift back to the A1 and how the traffic volume will be distributed on the Cologne motorway ring, explained Autobahn GmbH.
In addition, diversions and obstructions caused by other major construction sites are currently leading to increased traffic on the motorways around Cologne.
“The traffic situation on the motorways in the greater Cologne area could ease somewhat again,” said ADAC traffic expert Roman Suthold.
The ring character has now been restored for road freight transport and detours are finally eliminated.
“This saves truck drivers a significant amount of time, the shipping companies save costs and the environmental impact is reduced,” says Suthold.
dpa