As of: February 16, 2024, 10:00 a.m
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Two out of seven: The region uses signs on the motorway to point out places of interest.
If the panels have to be replaced, it will be expensive for the client.
This also applies to removal.
© thomas plettenberg
Everyone knows them: the brown signs that point to regional attractions on motorways.
To ensure that they do not become a danger, Autobahn GmbH requires that the signs be in a clean condition - and that can be expensive for the client.
District - Anyone who has previously ordered one of the brown signs on the motorway should probably start saving.
To ensure that they do not pose a safety hazard, Autobahn GmbH wants to keep them in perfect condition, and if there is something to complain about, it will be quite expensive.
The Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen district recently experienced this (we reported in the Bavaria section).
Renewing it costs 20,000 to 30,000 euros, and even demolishing it costs a lot: 6,000 euros.
There is a whole range of regulations for the signs known in technical jargon as “information boards”.
As Josef Seebacher, spokesman for Autobahn GmbH (formerly Autobahndirektion), explains, they must be easy to read and contain only a little information so that drivers are only distracted for a short time.
There needs to be a minimum distance between two signs, and they must not be positioned too close to the next exit, otherwise there is a risk of abrupt lane changes if someone decides to head for the advertised attraction.
In general, only three signs are allowed between two exits; only in two cases were there four.
It goes without saying that they must be stable so that the first wind does not blow them onto the road.
Check in spring
Seebacher cannot say whether one of the signs that stand on the A 8 and point to sights in the Miesbach district will also be affected.
“The signs are checked every spring.” When exactly depends on the weather.
The highway maintenance department takes control.
There are seven such boards in each direction in the district.
They point to the Tegernsee (established in 1997), the Olaf Gulbransson Museum (2012), the Schliersee/Wendelstein region (1995), the Markus Wasmeier open-air museum (2008), the Weyarn monastery church 2004), the Birkenstein pilgrimage site (2012) and the pilgrimage church Wilparting (2012).
On top of that, there is also reference to the Tölzer Land (2008) on the A8.
A few years ago, Sixtus Lampl wanted his organ museum to also get a plaque, but that didn't happen.
The maximum before the Holzkirchen and Weyarn exits in question has been exhausted and, according to Seebacher, the Federal Highway Authority is now taking the requirements very closely.
Renew or dismantle
From around the age of 15, it's worth taking a more critical look at the signs, says Seebacher.
The sun also affects the film on the panels sooner or later, depending on how they are positioned.
Things could actually soon get tight for one or the other sign.
When the time comes, Autobahn GmbH writes to the respective clients - which can also be tourism associations - and informs them about alternatives: renewal or dismantling.
Both are carried out by a contractor from Autobahn GmbH, which awards this work through a tender – along with its own signs.
What makes replacement so expensive is the fact that only specialist companies are authorized to work on the motorway.
Of course, they have to protect themselves, for example by blocking the right lane.
So several trucks drive to such an operation.
After dismantling, the foundations must also be removed and the resulting hole filled.
Not that there is a risk of an accident the next time you use green waste.
mockery
By the way, Autobahn GmbH sometimes gets mocking comments about the information boards, as Seebacher reports.
These then went in the direction that the advertised attraction was of rather moderate entertainment value.
By the way: Everything from the region is also available in our regular Miesbach newsletter.