Chancellor Friedrich Merz has that Rahmedetal Bridge on the A45 in Sauerland officially reopened after four years of closure. Together with Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder, Merz cut a symbolic ribbon and thereby released a partial new building on the important north-south connection. Shortly afterwards, traffic began on the bridge, which was newly built for 170 million euros, after the police gave it clearance.
Merz thanked the residents in Lüdenscheid, who had been affected by the sudden closure for four years. “From a transport policy perspective, we are only talking about four years,” said the Chancellor. The normal case for such buildings is eight to ten years. “First class what you did here.” The bridge is a model for the renovation of around 4,000 dilapidated motorway bridges in Germany. “Germany can Infrastructure” said Merz.
Bridge work not yet completed
The region can now breathe a sigh of relief, said Lüdenscheid’s mayor Sebastian Wagemeyer (SPD). North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) sees Frameworkde as the “new benchmark for the speed of implementation in Germany”.
The work on the bridge is not yet completely completed: so far only the first half of the bridge has been completed. A second part of the bridge is also being built. That’s enough to allow vehicles to drive across the valley in narrow lanes at 80 kilometers per hour. All work is expected to be completed by the end of next year.
Billions in damage to the Sauerland economy
The sudden closure of the Rahmedetal Bridge, which was in danger of collapsing, came as a shock four years ago
Sauerland. The A45 is the only north-south axis connecting the region with the Ruhr area and Hesse. After the closure, 20,000 cars and trucks had to switch to small bypass roads through towns and residential areas.
According to business associations, the lockdown had a significant impact on supply chains. Companies reported double-digit declines in sales. The German Economic Institute estimates the damage to companies in the region at around 1.5 billion euros.
