Mülheimer Brücke open again: Transport chaos in Cologne has an end!

Mülheimer Brücke open again: Transport chaos in Cologne has an end!

Good news for all drivers: inside and commuters: Inside in Cologne: The Mülheim bridge, which has been closed for 17 months, has now been released for traffic. On July 10, 2025 at 5:30 a.m., the blocking was canceled, which not only significantly improves the flow of traffic in the city, but also put an end to the numerous traffic jams that have formed during the construction work. As T-Online was reported on other bridges, especially in front of the zoo bridge, for many drivers Pulp.

The construction work on the Mülheimer Bridge has now been completed and the bridge can be accessed again in both directions. A lane on the north side of Niehl towards Mülheim was opened, which ensures a noticeable relief for the Situation. Before the reopening, it was not just the Mülheim bridge that suffered from the traffic chaos; Other Cologne bridges were also heavily burdened.

Temporary changes in light rail traffic

The city of Cologne had already reacted in February 2024 and restricted the KVB town railway lines 13 and 18. In order to operate the passengers, lines 14 and 19 were temporarily introduced, which control the Mülheim district via other Rhine bridges. But the future use of these lines remains uncertain, as is also noted by stadt-koeln.de

Progress in terms of the Mülheim bridge is not only limited to road traffic. A meeting of the traffic committee on March 18, 2025 informed about the status of the work in the light rail area, which is already in construction phase II. Here the tracks have been laid on the entire bridge train, which must now be attached and adjusted before the bridge can be put back into operation. The use of engineering is supported by a newly organized structure in the office for bridges, tunnels and light rail construction. This restructuring, which has been implemented since November 1, 2019, leads to shorter coordination channels and accelerated procedures. This is regarded by the city of Cologne, according to Innovative City , as an important measure to improve the processes.

The construction of the bridge, a modern suspension bridge, can move along and across. However, there are still some technical challenges to be overcome: Fixed camps that caused cracks in the end crossers in September 2024 must be repaired before the building can be fully put back into operation. The monitoring of crack development shows that the cracks have recently changed, which is a positive message for the responsible engineers:

Overall, the reopening of the Mülheimer Bridge is another step towards normality for Cologne traffic. While the city administration and the KVB continue to work on a quick restoration of the Stadtbahn, rail replacement traffic is guaranteed until complete completion. It is to be hoped that the flow of traffic in Cologne will soon work smoothly again.