As of: March 26, 2024, 3:07 p.m
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Trucks drive over Hamburg's Köhlbrand Bridge.
© Georg Wendt/dpa
What should happen to the Köhlbrand Bridge in Hamburg?
The Senate actually wanted to decide this week on a replacement for the dilapidated but important port connection.
That's off the table.
Hamburg - The red-green Hamburg Senate will not decide on the new Köhlbrand crossing until next week at the earliest.
Contrary to the original plans, the Senate did not decide on Tuesday on a printed matter prepared by the economic authority to replace the aging Köhlbrand Bridge.
The state press conference at which the plans were actually supposed to have been presented was also canceled.
The reason for the postponement is discord in the city-state's government.
According to dpa information, the so-called coordination between the authorities between the leading economic authority of Senator Melanie Leonhard (SPD) and the environmental authority of Senator Jens Kerstan (Greens) is difficult.
The bridge, which was completed in 1974 and is important for the port, is used by around 38,000 vehicles every day, including many trucks.
It is due to be replaced by 2036 due to overload and continued damage.
A decision was recently expected to build a new bridge, which at 4.5 to 5 billion euros should be cheaper than the tunnel solution long favored by the Senate.
It is still unclear who will cover which costs.
However, the Köhlbrand Bridge was upgraded to a federal highway in 2021, paving the way for federal funding.
Leonhard's spokesman Martin Helfrich said that final feedback would first have to be incorporated as part of the coordination of the printed matter so that the Senate could quickly deal with a carefully coordinated basis.
“The Senator for Economic Affairs represents both the port industry’s interest in a quickly clarified perspective for a new crossing and the goal of enabling everyone involved to make an informed and thoroughly prepared decision.”
According to reports, the environmental authority was particularly concerned about the haste with which the billion-dollar project for a replacement solution for the dilapidated Köhlbrand Bridge was now being brought to a decision after years of discussions.
But there is also still a need for coordination on individual questions - such as the height of the building.
Kerstan herself didn't want to say anything about it.
“We do not comment on printed matter that is still being coordinated internally by the authorities,” said his spokeswoman.
The SPD parliamentary group is sticking to a quick Senate decision - and maintaining the pressure on its coalition partner.
“Our expectations are clear: We assume that there will be a decision on the Köhlbrand Bridge shortly after Easter,” said their economic expert Hansjörg Schmidt.
CDU state and parliamentary group leader Dennis Thering sees the postponement of the decision as a disaster for Mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD) and his Senate.
“Again argument instead of decision, again an infrastructure project that is important for Hamburg is not making progress,” said the opposition leader and expressed doubts about the Senate’s ability to act and reliability.
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The Köhlbrand crossing project is increasingly becoming a symbol of a red-green Senate that is failing in important projects.
The economic spokesman for the CDU parliamentary group, Götz Wiese, added: “With the inability to present a solution for the Köhlbrand crossing, the Senate is exposing our port to ridicule in international competition.”
Norbert Hackbusch, port policy spokesman for the Left Party, spoke of political failure.
“The Senate has rated the issue as a top priority for years, but now it is getting bogged down again.” It is clear to everyone involved that a higher bridge would be more exposed to the effects of the weather.
“These need to be carefully calculated and presented for both their use and their lifespan,” he said.
The AfD primarily blames the green environmental senator Kerstan, who repeatedly rebels against the SPD on important transport projects, for the delays.
“Mayor Tschentscher would do well to finally throw the Environment Senator out the door.
This is an embarrassing farce for Hamburg that is irresponsible,” said the parliamentary group’s chairman and transport policy spokesman, Dirk Nockemann.
And FDP MP Anna von Treuenfels-Frowein also sees the credibility of the Senate dwindling.
“Instead of arguing publicly about the height of a new bridge, we should urgently speed up the new construction process,” she demanded.
“This Senate has been criminally neglecting the port and the city’s transport infrastructure for a long time, especially to the detriment of commercial transport.”
Two weeks ago, an internal audit report from the economic authority indicated that a new bridge would be built as a replacement solution.
“On the basis of this investigation, the Senate will make a recommendation for a new coal burn crossing,” said a spokesman for the economic authority.
For a long time, a tunnel was considered a virtual decision.
However, in the middle of last year, Economics Senator Leonhard brought a replacement bridge that had already been discussed back into play, among other things for cost reasons, and commissioned corresponding investigations.
She refused to renovate the existing bridge.
The bridge is a “technical and economic total loss”.
According to unconfirmed reports, the originally announced 5.3 billion euros costs for a tunnel have now become around 7 billion euros due to increased construction prices.
A new bridge with a clearance height for ships of more than 70 meters is expected to cost 4.5 to 5 billion euros, with around half a billion euros to be added for the demolition of the existing bridge, which is around 20 meters lower.
dpa