Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) is threatening to be slowed down by states with plans for faster construction of certain motorway projects. State governments in which the Greens co-govern want more time, according to a survey by the German Press Agency.
Wissing had set a deadline for the federal states more than a week ago. They should inform the federal government by Friday whether they agree to the statutory codification of a project to eliminate bottlenecks.
The traffic light coalition at federal level had agreed at the end of March that there should be an acceleration for motorway projects that are traffic jams and bottlenecks. That’s a total of 145, but they also include sections of a project. They are mainly in North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Hesse. The establishment of an outstanding public interest should be done in agreement with the country concerned, according to a decision paper by the coalition committee.
No green light from Hesse and NRW
North Rhine-Westphalia has not yet given the green light to accelerate motorway projects. “The talks are ongoing,” said a spokesman for NRW Transport Minister Oliver Krischer (Greens).
Hesse also needs more time to review the plans. The Hessian Ministry of Transport will “need a few more days for this,” said Minister Tarek Al-Wazir (Greens). Hesse is trying to get the process done quickly so that the legislative process in the federal government can be completed before the summer break.
According to the Ministry of Transport in Baden-Württemberg, it is still coordinating within the government around Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens). “At the moment we cannot say how we will answer the Federal Minister. We are still in the government voting process on this,” said the spokesman for the ministry.
Bavaria wants to register expansion projects
In Bavaria, the federal government wants to determine “outstanding public interest” for 23 motorway expansion projects. According to the Ministry of Transport, the Free State of Bavaria will register all of these projects for the Planning Acceleration Act. A corresponding report to the Federal Ministry of Transport will be made in due time.
The Rhineland-Palatinate Economics and Transport Minister Daniela Schmitt (FDP) supports the acceleration of motorway projects planned by her party colleague Wissing. The list of projects proposed by the Federal Ministry of Transport is to be fully endorsed. Wissing comes from Rhineland-Palatinate.
With the establishment of an outstanding public interest, planning times for traffic routes should be significantly reduced. According to the Federal Ministry of Transport, a total of 988 kilometers of new roads are to be built, which corresponds to 7.5 percent of the existing network. The goal: fewer traffic jams and smoother traffic.
If a state agrees, projects should be included in an approval acceleration law planned by Wissing, according to a letter from the minister to the states. The draft law should be dealt with quickly in the Federal Cabinet.
Still some open questions
In a letter from Krischer to Wissing, the NRW minister called on his counterpart in the federal government to clarify open questions. In view of the large number of projects that are located in North Rhine-Westphalia, he needs further information before making a decision on the declaration of the respective consent, according to Krischer.
He asks about the current planning status of the upcoming projects and where the federal government sees concrete potential for acceleration in the respective measures. Krischer also wants to know on which sections of the bottleneck removal there are bridge structures due for renovation and what the concrete plan of the federal government for the implementation of the renovation of motorway bridges in North Rhine-Westphalia looks like.
North Rhine-Westphalia is said to be a “hotspot” with regard to motorway bridges in need of renovation. The requested information is essential for the assessment of the complex facts and is needed in the short term for a decision-making process.
In Bavaria, the federal government’s plans for faster motorway expansion do not go far enough with regard to the Free State. In addition to the need identified so far by the federal government, Bavaria’s Transport Minister Christian Bernreiter (CSU) would like to have further sections of the motorway expanded at an accelerated rate. Important projects from Bavaria are not included there, says Bernreiter. (dpa)
