Shock for commuters: A 559 closed from Friday due to bridge construction!

Shock for commuters: A 559 closed from Friday due to bridge construction!

From next Friday evening in Gremberghoven the motto will be: “The road is closed!” Because the A 559 will be closed for important construction work. How Cologne City Gazette reported, the work is related to the construction of a new bridge over the motorway on Rather Straße. The lockdown will begin at 9pm on Friday, June 27th and end at 5am on Monday, June 30th.

During this time, traffic in the direction of Bonn will be diverted between the Cologne-Gremberg motorway junction and the Gremberghoven junction. The A 559 in the direction of Cologne between the Cologne-Porz triangle and the Cologne-Gremberg motorway junction is also affected. The crossings from the A4 and the A59 to the A559 are also particularly affected. Road users heading towards Bonn are directed from the Cologne-Gremberg junction to Frankfurt via the A3, while journeys to Cologne can be made via the A59 and the A3 to the Cologne-Ost junction.

Closures and diversions

The bridge on Rather Straße, which was built in 1964, had to be closed to motorized traffic in July 2022 due to stress corrosion cracking. Since then, only pedestrians and cyclists have had access. The demolition of the old bridge is planned for February 2024, and the new one will be built at the same location. The construction period is expected to last until autumn 2023.

The construction site activities are part of a larger modernization program that is being carried out across Germany. Loud Federal Ministry of Transport There are around 40,100 bridges recorded in the federal highway network in Germany. The intensive use and strain from heavy traffic have left their mark on many of these bridges, which has created an urgent need for action.

Background to the A 57 motorway

A look beyond current developments shows the importance of the A 57, which runs from the Netherlands to Cologne. With a total length of 119 kilometers, this highway stretches through congested areas and has numerous interchanges (29 in total) and intersections. How 24rhine reports, there are already plans to expand the A 57 to six lanes throughout in order to further ease the traffic situation.

Such measures not only address the current need for renovation, but also further improve transport exchanges between the regions. The upcoming construction work on the A 559 in Gremberghoven is only a small part of a much larger puzzle that affects the transport infrastructure in North Rhine-Westphalia. It will be interesting to see how the situation will develop!