Cologne: Full closure of the Mülheim bridge - no final solution by 2028!
Cologne: Full closure of the Mülheim bridge - no final solution by 2028!
The Mülheimer Bridge in Cologne remains a real patience playground for drivers and public transport users. The city has now announced a next full closure for cars, which will take place in the night hours from Monday, July 21st to Sunday, August 31, 2025. The renovation work on the end crossers of the bridge is still in full swing, and what was originally only about four years has stretched to an incredible eleven years. The budget has increased from 300 million euros to 500 million euros. This reports Express
But the end of the work is far from in sight. The renovation work is expected to be completed in 2028. During the day, however, the bridge remains navigable in both directions, foot and bike traffic remains unaffected by the nightly closures. If you want to get over the bridge by car at night, you have to adjust to diversions over the zoo bridge between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Next measures and their consequences
The full closures last a total of six weeks, corresponding to six nights per section. The city of Cologne has announced that it can also work on the bridge during the day so as not to pull the construction work unnecessarily. But that's not all: After the restart of the tram lines 13 and 18 was initially planned for April, the completion has also been delayed here, as WDR . For the time being, the rail replacement traffic will be maintained by the end of June 2025, which leads to a further increase in costs for Cologne's traffic companies-estimated at around 4 million euros.
The construction work was driven by various unexpected difficulties in the construction that make it necessary to first recreate the storage systems of the bridge before the new Stadtbahn rails can be installed. Therefore, the Cologne residents have to prepare for a bus replacement traffic that could possibly last until the end of the year, says KVB.
economic effects on the infrastructure
The Mülheimer Bridge is not an isolated case. According to a study by the German Institute of Urban Studies, many bridges and streets in German municipalities have a significant need for renovation. On average, an investment requirement of over 370 billion euros by 2030 may be necessary, says Tagesschau .
Almost every second street bridge is not in good condition, and every third street has larger defects. The pressure increases to make the infrastructure more attractive in order to gain and redeem passengers in local public transport. Therefore, the VDV general manager Oliver Wolff calls for an increase in funding to preserve the infrastructure, which is to be increased to 2.5 billion euros per year from 2026.
The current situation around the Mülheimer Bridge and the continued construction work show how important it is that the federal government and the municipalities find suitable solutions together to combat the renovation backlog and to ensure a reliable transport infrastructure.
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| Ort | Mülheim, Deutschland |
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