The closed Ringbahnbrücke of the A100 city highway. The A100 bridge in the west of Berlin has been fully closed in a northerly direction since Wednesday evening for safety reasons.
© dpa
Due to a widening crack in the supporting structure of the so-called ring road bridge of the A100 city motorway, the motorway company closed the bridge completely in a northerly direction on Wednesday evening.
This affects the northbound carriageway, where the A115 joins the A100. The bridge is part of the Funkturm motorway junction, over which around 230,000 cars drive every day. The roadworks were already causing long traffic jams in the morning. A quick solution is not in sight. What those impacted now need to know.
It is not yet clear how long the construction work will take. The bridge will be completely demolished and rebuilt. Ralph Brodel, spokesman for the north-east motorway branch, had spoken of a closure of at least two years the day before. "It could be shorter, it could be longer," he said. The new construction of the bridge had been planned for some time, regardless of the latest developments. A planning approval procedure is currently underway.
A precise diversion plan is currently being drawn up. In the short term, northbound traffic will be diverted to one lane of the opposite carriageway over the next few days in order to keep traffic on the motorway as much as possible. "Nevertheless, massive traffic jams are of course unavoidable," said Brodel. This applies to both directions. Around 95,000 vehicles cross the three-lane motorway bridge every day. According to the investigations so far, the S-Bahn, which runs under the bridge, can continue to run for the time being.
Some time ago, the motorway company discovered a crack in the bridge's supporting structure. This crack has reportedly become surprisingly larger in recent weeks. Following further inspections, a short-term closure of the bridge was unavoidable on Wednesday evening for safety reasons. "We are very aware of the considerable impact on traffic, on the mobility of citizens in Berlin and Brandenburg and also for residents in the surrounding districts," emphasised Brodel. "But the safety of all road users is our top priority."
The motorway company recommends avoiding the Funkturm junction due to the restrictions and using other modes of transport such as rail and bus services. However, especially in the short term, many drivers may try to avoid the junction by driving through neighbouring residential areas. Pedestrians and cyclists should therefore pay particular attention. However, the chairman of the pedestrian association Fuss e.V., Roland Stimpel, was optimistic when asked. "Traffic scientists around the world have shown time and time again that when roads fail, it is only at the very beginning that nearby parallel routes are very heavily used," he said. "Then many people change their behaviour: they take completely different routes or other means of transport, or they travel in completely different directions to go shopping, for leisure or to visit service providers." He expects some traffic to simply disappear at some point due to the closure.
At the beginning of March, it was discovered that an already known crack in a load-bearing component of the Ringbahn bridge had widened significantly. As a result, only one lane of the bridge could be used recently. The bridge was built in 1963. According to Autobahn GmbH, around 230,000 vehicles use it every day.