Full closure of the A1: Chaos through construction work on Leverkusen bridge!

Full closure of the A1: Chaos through construction work on Leverkusen bridge!

The anticipation for a liquid travel along the A1 near Leverkusen will be clouded for the time being: In the night from July 24th to July 25th, the highway towards Dortmund is completely closed. The reason for this is necessary construction work as part of the “A-Be-Lev” project, which aims at the modernization of the Leverkusen Rheinbrücke. The blocking, which applies from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. The detour is led via the signposted Route U11 via the A59 and A46, while the Rheindorf driveway is also blocked to the A1 .

But what is behind the comprehensive construction project? A look at the Leverkusen Rheinbrücke shows that the old construction was designed for only 40,000 vehicles per day, but the actual use is significantly higher. Therefore, the old bridge is now being demolished to create the space for the second sub -building. The new bridge project comprises two identical siblings - one for each direction of travel - that will offer four regular lanes and two interrelationships at the end of 2027 .

traffic problem in the region

The expansion of the bridge has already made high waves in the past: In the period from January 19 to February 4, 2024, a prior closure of the A1 led to chaotic conditions on the alternative routes, which were squeezed into the traffic streams of the A3, A4 and A59 like a bad gum. The result was kilometers of traffic jams and a truthful or multiplication of the stores. The release of the first part of the new Leverkusen bridge was then interpreted as a ray of hope for the traffic situation in the greater Cologne area .

With the opening of the first section of the bridge over the Rhine, which trucks are finally allowed to go through again, the detours of the past seem to belong. The ADAC sees the work as a step in the right direction to restore the ring character for road freight traffic .

infrastructure in focus

The Leverkusen bridge is a small but crucial part of the German transport infrastructure, which is considered one of the largest in Europe. In 2023, the federal government invested around 8.47 billion euros in road traffic to keep around 38,000 kilometers of federal roads and 13,200 kilometers in good ways. This is particularly relevant because the condition of many motorway bridges, according to current statistics, is "satisfactory" or better in about 70 % .