As of: February 29, 2024, 12:56 p.m
By: Sebastian Oppenheimer
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In the middle of fields near Euskirchen there is a lonely motorway bridge.
However, there is no associated motorway.
What's it all about?
When it comes to the topic of construction, then – at least most of the time – it is meticulously planned beforehand.
However, some projects take time - and the conditions often change faster than expected.
Or there are unforeseen problems.
These are sometimes solved unconventionally, such as in China, where a highway was simply built around a house because the owner didn't want to move out.
And in Germany, too, for example, there are highways that simply end somewhere in the middle of nowhere.
However, one structure in North Rhine-Westphalia is particularly strange: near Euskirchen there is a lonely motorway bridge - without an associated motorway.
The “So-da Bridge” near Euskirchen: Planning began in the 1970s
It is a so-called “ghost bridge” – also called “so-there bridge” because it is just “so there”.
The bridge between Frauenberg and Elsig was planned in the 1970s as part of Autobahn 56 - but it was never completed.
If you're wondering why the bridge was built but the highway wasn't: Bridges are often referred to as so-called advance construction work.
Among other things, they are often built first because they can lower themselves due to their heavy weight.
Bridge without connection: No car has ever driven over this so-called “So-da bridge” near Euskirchen.
© Future Image/Imago
A motorway bridge near Euskirchen was built - the associated motorway never came
According to the General-Anzeiger,
the A56 was
once planned as a southern bypass of the Cologne Ring.
However, a citizen of Euskirchen sued because the route passed too close to the outskirts of the city - the process dragged on for a long time.
Autobahn 56 was eventually downgraded to Bundesstraße 56.
This meant that the original planning basis was outdated - the entire project was ultimately overturned by a court order.
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Editor's note: This text has already appeared in the past. Many readers were particularly interested in it. That's why we're offering it again.
“So-Da-Brücke” near Euskirchen: in focus again in 2001 – thanks to the rock band BAP
The unfinished structure was not demolished - and so the bridge remains lonely and pretty useless in the landscape to this day.
A dirt road leads under the “dead bridge”.
The “So-da-Brücke” near Euskirchen became more famous again in 2001 through the Cologne rock band BAP: the musicians presented their new album “Aff un zo” there.
The unfinished building is also shown on the cover of the CD.